Sweeter Than Syrup
by emb559
Summary: Riverdale is not what it once was. Millicent Miller has to solve the murder of Jason Blossom and needs the help of Jughead Jones. Darius Miller wants to know exactly how his mother died and why she was writing letters to Jason Blossom. Isadora Miller wants to raise her snake in peace...but Reggie Mantle is getting in the way. Welcome back to Riverdale. It's not what it once was.
1. Prologue

A year was a long time. It was even longer when you were away from the friends that felt like family and the town that was home. Millicent Miller's entire life was in Riverdale, but her mother had taken her siblings and her away. Millie was ripped away from the boy who she swore was her soulmate and the girl who felt like her sister. She was taken from the studio she learned to dance in and the town that taught her to have pep. Then, the fire happened.

The Miller children were returning to Riverdale and nothing was as it once was.

* * *

_"Jason," Millie called through the widest of smiles. She was sitting cross-legged on Cheryl Blossom's bed with her hands widespread. Cheryl was painting her nails "Maple Blossom Red" – the signature color of the family. Jason Blossom leaned against the doorway, watching them. "I didn't know you'd be home."_

_"If it isn't my two favorite girls," Jason said, ignoring Millie's obvious lie._

_"It's a good thing you're here, JayJay," Cheryl answered, ignoring the flirting between the two. Her best friend and her brother had been in love since sixth grade when the opposite sex stopped having cooties. "Perhaps you can convince Mimi that athleisure isn't appropriate attire for every day."_

_"I told you that I have class in an hour. I was hoping Jason could drive me." Jason kissed the top of Millie's head and sat down beside her. He only had his permit, but that never stopped him from driving her around. After all, who was going to pull over a Blossom?_

_"If you two weren't my most favorite people, I would find you love revolting. I still might," Cheryl announced. Neither believed her. The three felt they could never be torn apart._

* * *

A lot had happened in a year. Jason and Millie decided long distance would never work. Cheryl found minions to spend time with. Millie danced until her feet bleed and danced some more. She pushed her siblings away from her and barely answered her messages. She let her childhood friends slip away.

The last week in June, the three Miller children were sent to visit their father in his home in Riverdale. Millie had intended to stay in hiding until she received a text message from Cheryl Blossom. It read:

_Word around the ballet barre is that you're back in town. You may not have time to answer my calls, but you should know that Jayjay dumped the dumbest blonde in town._

The next time Millie went to the studio, Jason Blossom was waiting by the door.


	2. Chapter 1: Return to Riverdale

The Miller children moved back to Riverdale in late August, after the fire that destroyed their life outside the town with pep. The fire took the dance studio their mother had invested all of her money in. So, the Miller children returned to the home they grew up in with the father they were at odds with.

Darius was the eldest child and the reason his parents got married. Millicent followed him quickly. Isadora followed Millie much quicker than intended. Cassandra Miller realized that she would never get her body back after three children so she shared with them her greatest love. Dance.

When the three returned to Riverdale, they would enter their sophomore year of high school together. Darius had been forced to repeat his freshmen year of high school and was shoved into his sister's grade for their time in New York. Isadora was so brilliant that she flew past eighth grade and joined her siblings. Returning to Riverdale wasn't going to be easy for any of them. Returning to their same bedrooms was supposed to be comforting, but it felt like a bad case of Deja Vous.

Millicent's father insisted that she work at Pop's Chocolate Shop to help pay for her many dance classes, something her mother would never have forced her to do. Darius was often teased as a child for being a boy in dance classes and took the move as an opportunity to hang up his tights. He was trying out for the football team. Isadora quit dancing as well and her father finally allowed her to get the snake she had been begging for since age eight.

The day before school started, Millie was at Pop's late to help clean up after the dinner rush. It was deserted with the exception of Jughead Jones, who was typing away on his laptop and stuffing his face with French fries. Pop's was open twenty-four hours a day but rarely was someone besides Jughead there at night. Millie and Jughead had been close friends as children but drifted away in middle school. Neither had acknowledged the other until Millie happened to glance at his computer while refilling his coffee. The name "Jason Blossom" jumped out at her.

"Why are you writing about Jason?" Millie's curiosity often got the best of her. Jughead signed loudly. He had gotten angsty in middle school. Millie noticed that he was still wearing the same crown hat. "Is that some sort of journal?"

"I'm writing a novel. It's about all of Riverdale. Starting this summer. When Jason…" Jughead trailed off. Every single person in Riverdale knew that Millie was in love with Jason.

"Drown. You can say it. I won't break." Millie joined Jughead in the booth. She had broken on July 5th when she first heard the news, but Jughead didn't need to know that. "You didn't welcome me back."

"We aren't friends anymore." Jughead Jones was always honest, even when you didn't want to hear it. Especially when you didn't.

"I don't want you slandering Jason. I know you hated him." Jason had always been kind to Millie, but the football players weren't kind to kids like Jughead. Kids who were different. Millie had always overlooked it because she loved Jason and knew his softer side. To her, Jason Blossom was kisses after dance practice and a new charm on your bracelet for every dance competition. He was catching fireflies and drive-in nights with Cheryl.

"I'd have to care to hate him." Millie stood from the booth, remembering why she hadn't thought about Jughead Jones in the past year. "You should let me interview you then. For my book. Who knew Jason better than you?"

"I guess you couldn't get ahold of Polly Cooper then." Millie took off her apron and went behind the counter.

* * *

_ In the early hours of the morning on July 1__st__, Jason Blossom laid in the bed of Millicent Miller. He had snuck in through her window to crawl into her bed. She was returning to her New York in the morning and she wasn't allowed back until Thanksgiving. _

_ "Tell me you're done with Polly," Millie whispered. Jason smiled at her and ran his hands through her own ginger hair. _

_ "I love you," Jason answered as he had every time she had asked. Before she had just basked in that answer, but now she was running out of time. "I've always loved you."_

_ "That doesn't answer the question." Jason pulled her close and she breathed in his scent. He smelled of vanilla and maple syrup. She treasured that scent. Millie wanted to bottle it and dab it behind her ear every morning._

_ "It's complicated. Just know that I love you."_

_ "I love you too," she answered. Jason wasn't done with Polly, just like she wasn't done with him._

* * *

On the first day of school, the three Miller children skipped Betty Cooper's tour. They had grown up in Riverdale and the layout of the school was the same as the middle school all the children had attended.

Still, before they entered the school, they all faced it together as though they weren't the type of siblings who had drifted away from each other the second they left Riverdale. They were all nervous.

"Should we all meet up for lunch," Isadora asked. She appeared the most nervous of them all. She always had been. Millie assumed it was ingrained into her DNA.

"I'll be hiding," Millie answered, folding her arms tightly against her chest. She hadn't kept in touch with anyone from Riverdale and she expected the absolute worst because of it. Cheryl Blossom did not like to be ignored.

"I'll meet you, Izzy," Darius answered. "Millie has about twelve seconds before Cheryl snatches her up."

"Are they going to be talking about us?"

"Just me," Millie answered. "I'm the dead kid's girlfriend."

"I thought that was Polly Cooper," Darius said sarcastically. Millie pushed his books out of his hands before walking into school alone.

Darius turned out the be right. The second Millie slammed her locker, Cheryl's face appeared on the other side, her red lips smirking like a cat about to pounce on a mouse.

"You missed JayJay's funeral," Cheryl said. Cheryl often did this – stating facts that were really questions. This was her way of asking why. Asking where Millie was when there was only one place she should have been.

"I was all packed, but at 3 AM my mother's dance studio caught on fire." The girls faced off. Millie could see Cheryl's minions, her replacements, watching off in the distance. Cheryl had every right to be mad at her. Millie had been so sad about moving and leaving the Blossom twins that she stopped answering her phone. She couldn't stand to think of the life she left behind. Millie never made friends in New York.

"How is Mommy dearest? Still making you dance until you drop? Word on the street is that you're the only Miller who's been to the studio. Don't tell me your siblings couldn't hack it in the New York dance scene. Is that why Mommy Miller forced you back?"

"She got burned in New York," Millie answered. Millie had seen Cheryl like this before, but not directed at her. This type of aggression was usually saved for other girls, the girls she didn't think were someday destined to be in her sister-in-law.

"How so? Did her separation tear her apart?" When Cheryl swung her dagger, she went straight for the throat, but Millie knew Cheryl better than anyone alive. She was prepared.

"Literally, Cheryl Bombshell. She was in the studio."


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome to the River Vixens

Isadora Miller had mixed feelings about her return to Riverdale. Her father let her stop dancing, which she loathed for the past seven years, but she was forced to return to a town where she was simply Millicent Miller's little sister. The upside was that no one seemed to remember her. The downside to that was that no one seemed to care that she had left at all.

Just when she thought she was done with all things dance, she ran into Cheryl Blossom in the washroom. Cheryl Blossom wasn't wearing her signature red lipstick anymore but a sweet pink gloss. It was unlike her in an oddly frightening way.

"Dora, dear. Welcome home! I assume I'll be seeing you after school?"

When Isadora was little, she wanted nothing more than to be noticed by Cheryl Blossom and her big sister. She wanted to be invited to their sleepovers with their friend Heather and wear an expensive friendship locket provided by Cheryl Blossom. In her entire life, this was the only time Cheryl said anything besides "Ew" or "Move."

"After school?" Isadora had planned to return to her bedroom and feed her snake, but she didn't want to tell Cheryl that. She didn't need another "ew."

"There are try-outs for the River Vixens. With your dance experience, obviously, you're going. We have some girls who need replacing. Your sister will probably be my second-in-command, no offense, but we can find you a spot."

"I don't dance anymore." Cheryl put down her lip gloss and smiled at Isadora with a grin that Izzy had only seen on her snake before he got a mouse.

"Oh, but you should. After all, you have the opportunity to create a new identity. Why stick with nerd if you don't have to? Besides, you aren't dancing anymore. If you aren't careful, you could really pack on the pounds." Cheryl exited just as she entered the world. In a cloud of chaos.

* * *

When lunchtime rolled around, Millie took her lunch under the bleachers, where she was hoping she could eat alone. People had spent the day giving her sympathetic looks and many were scared to talk to her after word of her talk with Cheryl got out. The day had been hard. Reggie Mantle had told her that he was keeping an eye out for her for Jason's sake and she had to excuse herself to the bathroom to cry for the boy she lost. Cheryl Blossom was also keeping a close eye on her and Millie knew it was only time until their next encounter. After third period, she was once again approached by the blissfully dumb Reggie who wanted to know if it was true that Darius had a super hot girlfriend in New York who had been a cheerleader. Darius hadn't, but Millie told Reggie that he had. Darry had spent most of his childhood trying to explain to the world that ballet didn't determine his sexuality. If he really wanted to disappoint their mother and quit dancing to become a meathead jock, then she wouldn't stop. She might judge him silently, but she would let him make his own choices. Under the bleachers at lunch, Millie didn't find solace but Jughead Jones with more French fries that one boy should ever attempt to consume.

"I expected you to be with your new Mantle bodyguard," he said, though he didn't sound surprised to find Millie in hiding. She wondered if that was part of his all-knowing arrogance or his deep understanding of Riverdale's anything but complex social hierarchy. "I hear you're his new conquest.

"On the contrary," she answered, sitting beside him and pulling out her packed healthy lunch. "I'm marked Blossom property. No football player would date me since I belong to Jason and no cheerleader would even look at me since Cheryl wants my head on a stick. I guess I'm stuck with you."

"I could leave, you know." He didn't look annoyed the way any other boy would be. He simply opened what had to be his fifth ketchup packet.

"With your diet? Juggy, you'd have a heart attack if you tried to run away."

* * *

When Millie slid into the booth across from Jughead Jones at Pop's that evening, he was surprised that she dropped a Vixen's uniform on the table, wrapped in plastic packaging. He was more surprised that she was acting as though they were friends, dropping her things down at his table like she trusted him to watch them when her shift began in twenty minutes. They hadn't been friends since the summer before sixth grade. Before she became a future Blossom and didn't have time to visit his treehouse

"I've decided that you can interview me for your novel, but only so you'll give an accurate depiction of Jason. Something besides the whole football players are meatheads who are mean to the rest of us cliché."

"You're a River Vixen?"

Millie launched into a story involving Cheryl Blossom sitting next to her in their US History class and sliding a tube of Maple Read nail polish onto her desk and telling her to apply it before this weekend's homecoming dance while wearing her sixth-grade friendship locket around her neck. Suddenly, they were best friends again and Cheryl was informing her that she would be at Vixen tryouts after school. Obviously, she would make the squad with her dance experience and a Cheryl Blossom stamp of approval.

"Welcome back to the Blossom inner circle," Jughead said the moment she concluded the story. His voice dripped with sarcasm, but Millie was excited to have Cheryl back on her side. She knew that it had been selfish to go off the grid when she moved. Just because her heart broke when she and Jason had to end, it hadn't meant that she had to break Cheryl's heart. When Heather had moved away after sixth grade, Cheryl had been a mess the entire summer. Millie couldn't imagine Cheryl going through it again. "It was nice knowing you."

"Jughead, I'm still going to do the novel with you. Jason Blossom wasn't a monster. He was my first boyfriend, my first kiss – "

"I seem to remember another kiss that happened before you were entangled in the world of the Blossom twins."

"That doesn't count. We were six and you wiped your mouth on the back of your hand afterward." Millie was surprised when Jughead blushed. It was kind of cute to see him shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"So I wasn't as suave of a six-year-old as I'm sure Jason would have been."

"Careful, Juggy. Jealousy doesn't look good on you." Jughead scoffed but was otherwise speechless. Millie stood up to get ready for her shift. She liked having the last word against Jughead Jones.


	4. Chapter 3: 7 Minutes In Blossom

Darius entered his youngest sister's room to find her in a River Vixen uniform with a snake dancing around her arm. When their father told them that they wouldn't have to dance anymore, Darius wasn't surprised to see his sister quit. She loved science more than anything. She liked computers and animals more than tap shoes and glitter, but their mother wanted all of her children to be dancers like she was. Cassandra Miller was determined to have three children with the dance career that she had given up to birth them. Only Millie ever seemed to enjoy it. It was why it was so surprising to see Isadora wearing a Vixen's uniform.

"You know there's dancing in cheerleading right? The only snake is Cheryl Blossom."

"You're so funny, Darry," Isadora answered. She looked pleased with herself. Izzy had always had trouble making friends. She was smarter than her classmates and their mother had barely let them do anything after school because of their dance lessons. "Cheryl actually told me I should try out. Didn't you hear? She and Millie made up. Besides, I was hoping I would get to cheer you on?"

"I made the team," Darius answered and Izzy ran to hug her brother. When she pulled away, she looked upset.

"Is it wrong to be so happy? I mean, Mom wouldn't like it." Darry signed. He had to admit that he had been thinking the same thing. Their parents' divorce had gotten ugly. While Millie had sided with her mother immediately, Darry had never felt that was fair. Yes, their father had cheated and Darry was angry for it, but Millie didn't know what Darry knew.

It hadn't been as though they had been a big happy family. Their parents pretended they weren't fighting behind closed doors. Lionel Miller had thought their mother was spending too much time forcing the children to dance and Darry agreed. He didn't even like dancing. When he wanted to play baseball, his mom said no. When Izzy wanted to enter the science fair, his mom said no. When their father asked her to relax, Cassandra screamed no. She had come from money. After taking all the money (Lionel had foolishly signed a prenup without a lawyer before their wedding), she moved the children to New York and invested everything in her dance studio. Not just her money, but her children and time. She didn't notice that Millie was heartbroken and depressed. She missed when Izzy was picked on for being the youngest in her class. Cassandra didn't even notice that Darry had broken his right toe on purpose to keep from having to sign up for a ballroom dancing competition. Darry wasn't glad that she was dead because he did love his mother, but he was glad to be in the care of his father. Lionel had signed the permission slip to try out for football and wished his son luck. He told Darry that he was proud of him for trying something new.

He had expected to be teased when he returned to Riverdale and he almost was. He had to tell Reggie that he left behind a smoking hot girlfriend in New York and luckily Millie had backed him up. He showed Reggie pictures of his old dance partner, Chelsea and swore they had been together. A lot. Reggie had even told him that he was a genius for playing the long con. Now he was on the football team.

"Don't feel bad," Darry told his sister, who smiled gratefully at him.

"I'm still focusing on science, but why not try something different this time? What's the harm in pep rallies and football games? It's high school, after all." Darry knew how lonely his sister had been. Izzy could never even fit in with the other girls in her dance class, no matter how hard she tried. She hadn't had enough passion and kept talking about snakes and computers. Darry just wanted Izzy to have the high school experience she always wanted. If that meant being a River Vixen, then he was going to cheer for the cheerleaders.

* * *

Millicent went to the dance wearing a little black dress from Cheryl's closet. She had been against wearing black at first because she didn't want to look like she was in mourning, but when she put it on it became clear that it was the best choice. Cheryl had impeccable taste. It hugged her body nicely and the bust line wasn't too revealing, but revealing enough. The skirt hugged her hips in a way that made her lean dancer body look like an hourglass figure. Cheryl even curled her hair to perfection.

"I know we both have red hair, but I always envied yours," Millie had confessed, glad to be Cheryl's best friend again. "The Blossom hair is so vibrant. Mine is just…not on your level."

"A few carefully placed highlights and we'll have your hair gleaming like the Blossom you would have been if JayJay was still here." Cheryl had always been so sure that Jason and Millie were going to get married. Cheryl had sent her a pro and con list that she made about Polly the second she started dating Jason. The cons were seventeen pages and there wasn't a single pro. Millie never replied, but she often thought about it. Even when she didn't write back, Cheryl sent her Riverdale life updates. Sure, there were passive-aggressive (and sometimes just plain aggressive) remarks about her lack of response, but their bond was still there. Millie's best friend would always be Cheryl Blossom. "I'm throwing a little after party after the dance. You have to be there."

The dance itself had been boring. Reggie had danced with her after several boys had asked her to dance only to be denied. Reggie took his "bro code" very seriously. Millie wondered if it also extended to Polly Cooper, but didn't ask. She couldn't bear the answer.

The real drama started at Cheryl's after party, when spin-the-bottle ended up with Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge in the closet for Seven Minutes in Heaven. Everyone besides Archie knew that Betty Cooper was in love with him, but it seemed as though even Archie was catching on. Millie knew that Cheryl was doing this because Polly had dated Jason and it hadn't ended well (though no one seemed to know the details) and she felt partially responsible. When Betty ran from the party after minute one, Millie followed her. Betty was in tears by the time Millie caught up.

"Is this some kind of punishment," Betty had yelled at her. It was the first time Millie had seen Betty yell. Betty had always been the perfect girl next door. She was a good girl with good grades, a positive attitude, and a bright future. Betty was the girl you could count on to be nice, even when no one else would. "Because Polly dated Jason? I know you two dated for forever, but you weren't even here and I'm not Polly – "

"I didn't have anything to do with that," Millie had told her. She meant it. She had no idea that Cheryl was going to do such a thing and she wished she hadn't. It only drew more attention to the situation. If Veronica hadn't gone in the closet, then Cheryl said that she would, which left Veronica little choice. Millie knew that Cheryl had planned for this to happen. The two girls had practiced spinning bottle in middle school. Cheryl could always make it land wherever she wanted. If only Archie had left. "I'm sorry about Cheryl. And Polly. I don't blame you for that. I can't blame Polly for that. Cheryl did a crappy thing."

When Betty's eyes met her, Millie could see the tears falling at full force. That was how she ended up hugging Betty Cooper on the side of the road on a Saturday night and rekindling a friendship that had faded when she entered sixth grade. Before she fell in love with Jason, Millie had been friends with Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews, and Jughead Jones. Their friendship had faded when her mother started signing her up for dance competitions and what little free time she had was spent orbiting the Blossoms. She hadn't even realized that she missed Betty until that very moment.

* * *

Isadora never dreamed she would be invited to a party at Thornhill Manor by Cheryl Blossom. She had tried to reject the invitation purely out of fear, but she was a River Vixen and Cheryl informed her that her attendance was mandatory. The dance had been pretty boring, but Cheryl's party was something out of a teen movie.

Cheryl had gotten the new girl into a closet with Archie Andrews. Veronica Lodge was from New York as well, but Isadora never met her. They never went to the same school or even met any of the same people, but Isadora knew the name "Lodge" from reading the newspaper. Veronica's father was in jail for embezzlement and fraud.

About a minute after Archie and Veronica went into the closet, Betty Cooper fled the party and Isadora was shocked that her sister followed her. Millie and Betty had played dolls together when they were younger, but Izzy knew that Polly Cooper had dated Jason while they were in New York. Izzy had always liked Betty. Unlike Cheryl, Betty would let Izzy play with them. For a while, Izzy considered her a friend to herself, not just her sister. She didn't like that Cheryl was torturing Betty, but she didn't speak up. Cheryl had just given her a chance in Riverdale and Izzy wasn't ready to throw it away.

When Archie and Veronica emerged from the closet, they both chased after Betty, but not before Veronica called Cheryl a shady bitch. Izzy expected an epic smackdown, but Cheryl didn't even bat an eye. Izzy wished that she had the self-confidence that Cheryl did. Then Reggie Mantle spun the bottle and it landed on her.

"Okay, other new girl, let's do this," Reggie said, standing up from the couch and offering Izzy his hand. Izzy stared at it.

"I'm Isadora," she answered, hoping to spark his memory. It had been a year, but Riverdale had always been a small town. She knew who Reggie was. Everyone did.

"She's Millie's little sister, you insufferable meathead," Cheryl snapped.

"But she's in my biology class," Reggie answered, without fully closing his mouth. Cheryl rolled her eyes.

"She's smart, Mantle. Just get in the closet. Both of you. Go on, Dora."

Izzy stood up without taking Reggie's hand and stepped into the closet. Reggie followed her. Her last view of the outside world was Cheryl's red smirk as she shut the door. The first ninety-seven seconds were spent in silence. She counted. Izzy wasn't going to admit to Reggie that she had never kissed a boy before or that she had never been on the date. The last time she held a boy's hand, she was crossing the road with her father.

"You don't have red hair," Reggie said, catching Izzy by surprise. "Your sister does. Yours is brown."

"I know. Millie got the good looks," Izzy admitted. It wasn't that Izzy was particularly ugly. She was just boring, especially in comparison to her older prettier sister. She had tried to wear a little bit of makeup, but she wasn't very good her it. Maybe she should have asked her dad for highlights.

"Brown is better," Reggie answered quickly. Izzy looked up at him. He was so tall that she wished she had worn heels. Reggie gently tucked a lock of Izzy's hair behind her ear and kissed her. It was Izzy's first kiss and it was with a boy who she never thought would have looked at little Izzy Miller. She liked it a lot.

* * *

**_ 1 Year Before Jason Went Missing:_**

_Millicent Miller didn't think she could cry anymore. Her face was so puffy, she barely let Jason see her, but she couldn't stand to spend any of their final seconds away from each other. Jason had come over to help her pack, but he wasn't really helping and she wasn't really packing. They were just lying next to each other in her bed, staring into each other's eyes. _

_ "Can't you stay with your father?"_

_ "He didn't even fight my mom," Millie answered, inching closer to Jason. "Besides, I don't think I could stand living with him. After what he did to my mother. To us."_

_ Jason laced his fingers through hers and she felt herself tear up again. What was she going to do without him? They had already agreed that long distance wouldn't work. Millie wasn't set to visit her father until December. "We could run away together."_

_ "How would we do that?" Millie was tempted, but she knew it could never happen. They couldn't leave Cheryl and they wouldn't have any money without their parents. For that moment, she wanted to pretend it was true._

_ "I've thought about it. I know exactly what to do." Millie smiled and buried herself in Jason's chest. "There's this farm we could go to."_

_ "You would really run away?" There was no way it would work. He was just being romantic...wasn't he?_

_ "I would," Jason said softly. Millie believed him. She knew when Jason was lying. For some reason, it scared her. _

_ "Would you leave without saying goodbye?" Jason kissed the top of her head._

_ "I'd come back to get my girl."_

* * *

After dropping Betty off at her house, Millie headed straight for Pop's. She had texted her father that she was going to Cheryl's after the dance, which meant he wasn't expecting her home until tomorrow. Before moving to New York, Millie spent every moment she wasn't dancing at Thornhill. She found texting her parents "going to Cheryl's" meant that no one would expect her home until her next dance lesson. Besides, her father was so terrified of her grief that he'd give her anything she wanted to keep from talking about it.

Millie wasn't surprised to find Jughead Jones in a booth, typing away on his laptop. In fact, she had been counting on it. She had been too nervous to eat before the dance and the party at Cheryl's left her exhausted. Millie slid into the seat across from Jughead and reached for his coffee, taking a long sip.

"You're a little overdressed for Pop's," Jughead said, pulling the coffee cup out of her hand.

"Well, you didn't ask me to the dance. I had to get your attention somehow." The look of pure panic on Jughead's face made her cackle. It was the deep kind of laugh that left Millie gasping for breath. This laugh was truly ugly sound and she would have never allowed it in front of Jason, but this was Jughead. She wasn't worried. Jughead's face turned redder than Jason Blossom's hair. Millie pulled the coffee cup back into her hands and finished it off.

"Um. So Archie was just in here. He was looking for Betty. Something happen at Casa Blossom?" Truthfully, Millie didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to have to defend Cheryl to Jughead. She was having enough trouble doing that to herself.

"Seven minutes in Heaven. Archie and Veronica. In front of Betty." Jughead nodded. He wasn't obviously like Reggie Mantle or Archie Andrews. He didn't need it spelled out for him.

"Who'd you end up with? I noticed Reggie's been following you a lot lately. Keeping an eye on you. Aren't you the brawns over brains type?" Maybe she should have told him that Jason was both, but she couldn't handle another fight.

Millie shook her head. "I didn't play. I don't need to another boy in my life. I barely survived the last one."

She was embarrassed when tears sprung in her eyes. Jason Blossom was gone and she was going to have to find a way to live without him. Millie shivered, suddenly too cold for the dress that Cheryl had lent her. She wouldn't be surprised if Cheryl had bought the dress specifically for her to wear. Jughead got up from the booth and handed her a sweatshirt before walking over to the counter. He didn't return for several minutes, but when he did, he was holding two milkshakes. He kept the vanilla for himself and thrust a double chocolate in front of her.

"I don't know if it's still your favorite, but we can switch if you want." Jughead was nervous. Millie found it incredibly adorable. She didn't usually like nervousness in boys. Jason was never nervous. Millie took a long sip of her milkshake. "I find that there isn't much a milkshake from Pop's can't fix."

At the moment, Jughead was right. He wouldn't be the next morning.


	5. Chapter 4: Sweetwater Ribbit

Lionel Miller had called Pop Tate on Sunday morning to let him know that his daughter wouldn't be able to make her shift that afternoon. Since the news of Jason Blossom's body reached the Miller household, Millie hadn't left her bedroom. Every few hours, the Millers took turns checking on her, but she shooed them all away. She didn't want food or sympathy or company. She said that she wanted to be left alone. Isadora had offered to let her snake slither into Millie's room to scare her out, but Darius put a stop to that as soon as possible. Sunday evening, Darius had had enough. He had two stops to make. The first was to see Betty Cooper.

Alice Cooper answered when he knocked at the door and she was just as aggressive as he remembered. "Darius Miller. I heard the Miller children were back in town. Do you think I could convince your sister to partake in my tell-all about the Blossoms? She must know some of Jason's deep dark secrets."

"Mom!" Betty appeared at the door and shooed her mother away, but not before Alice shoved a card into his hands. "I'm sorry about her."

"She's actually why I'm here. Sort of. It's about Millie," Darius explained. He hadn't forgotten Betty. She was the kindest person that he ever met. Growing up, Izzy always wanted to play with Millie and her friends. Millie hated it, but Betty always said games were more fun with other people. Once when Reggie Mantle pushed him to the ground because "boys don't dance," she had offered him a hand and a blue lollipop. At age seven, everyone knew blue was the best flavor of candy. "I know your family runs the Riverdale Register and I was hoping that if you got wind of any bombshells, you might…Well…"

"Give you a warning," Betty finished, smiling kindly at him. "You want to protect your sister. I respect that. I'll let you know if I hear anything."

Betty handed her phone to Darius and he put his number in. "Darry, do you still take pictures?"

Leave it to Betty Cooper. His family never took an interest in his photography. He had always been shy about it, but once he showed Betty Cooper. He had only done it because he had taken a picture of her and she had looked absolutely beautiful. He hadn't had the guts to tell her how beautiful she was, but he did show her the picture. It was an accident, he had said, but he didn't feel right taking a girls picture without telling her. When she could have been upset, she had been encouraging. Betty Cooper believed in him. She asked to see more of his photography.

"Yeah," he answered sounding more nervous than he wanted to, which was about as nervous as he was. "I mean, I dabble."

"I'm thinking of restarting the school newspaper, the Blue and Gold. I know you're playing football, but if you have time, we could use a photographer. What do you say?" Even if he had wanted to say no, he wouldn't have been able to with the way she looking at him.

"You have my number." She started to close the door, but Darry placed his hand gently on hers. "One more thing. Do you know where I could find Reggie?"

"Why do you want to find Reggie?" He really couldn't blame her for being surprised. He and Reggie didn't have a great relationship.

"Millie is upset. I mean, obviously. She doesn't want to talk to us which I get, but she should talk to someone. Cheryl isn't in the place to cheer someone else up and Reggie's the only other person I've seen her with. I just…I don't want her to be alone."

"You're a good brother, Darius Miller. But Reggie isn't the one you should talk to."

* * *

When Millie heard someone knock at her bedroom window, her first thought was _Jason_. He used to climb the tree next to her window all the time. Of course, it wasn't Jason. He had been shot. In the head. He hadn't drowned as everyone thought. He didn't run away. Jason Blossom was dead and he wasn't coming back for Millie.

When she opened the window, Jughead Jones crawled through in a not so graceful manner. His boot sent all her pencils flying across the room and her picture from her first recital flying off her desk. He smiled like a kid at a candy store, proud of himself for what he surely felt was a compelling entrance. He dropped a take out bag from Pop's on her desk. "I heard you wouldn't leave your room. Your brother came to Pop's to find me."

Millie was humiliated. Her room wasn't fully unpacked and was cluttered with boxes, she was in sweatpants, and her brother had sent Jughead out of pity. She flopped on her bed and clutched a pillow to her chest. That morning she had decided she was too sad to shower and she was thoroughly regretting it. Jughead sat down next to her and opened the bag, shoving a fistful of fries into his mouth. Millie stared at him and he smiled with a mouth full of food. "Are you eating French fries in my bed?"

"I forgo ketchup out of respect to your sheets." Despite herself, Millie chuckled. Just a little. She even smiled for a moment.

"I overheard my father on the phone with Sherriff Keller this morning. He wanted to drop off a copy of the tape from a dance competition we were in on July 4th." Even Jughead had to stop eating for that. "My father can't look me in the eyes and tell me that he's sorry Jason is dead, but he can provide my alibi at the drop of a hat."

Jughead didn't say anything and Millie signed deeply. "Admit it. You thought it was me too. The ex-girlfriend who couldn't stand that Jason moved on. Everyone is going to think I did it, but I could never – "

Once again, Millie was crying in front of Jughead Jones. She knew skipping school tomorrow would only make going back worse, but she wanted to spend the entire day in the studio. Her mother would let her. In fact, her mother would have encouraged it.

"Millie, I never thought you did it. Not for a second." Millie rested her head against Jughead's shoulder and hoped against all hopes that everyone else thought so too.

The next morning, Millie awoke early. She tried on several outfits, unable to decide if she should wear all black in mourning or wear the green shirt that Jason got her for her fourteenth birthday. She applied waterproof mascara, a staple for attending Riverdale High. Eventually, she paired a black shirt with blue jeans and her quietest black flats. She didn't want to draw attention to herself by wearing all black or loud heels. It was a pipe dream as long as Cheryl was around, but Millie knew that if she didn't stay optimistic, then she wouldn't get out of bed. If she didn't go to school today, then she never would.

When the doorbell rang, Millie wasn't surprised. Jughead had offered to walk into school with her, but she had refused because she didn't want to deal with the football team. She knew Reggie was trying to do right by her, but that didn't erase all the times he was rude to Jughead or anyone else. After racing down the stairs, she was surprised to see Cheryl Blossom at the door. "Bonjour, Mimi. I thought we should ride to school together. We are in mourning afterall."

"Cheryl," Millie said, failing to hide her panic. This could be a trap. "My father gave Sherriff Keller a video tape of my dance competition. He can verify my alibi. I didn't –"

"Dear, sweet Mimi," Cheryl answered, looping her arm through Millie's as they walked to the beautiful Blossom red convertible. It had been Jason's pride and joy. "You were never a suspect. You loved Jason and he loved you. His time with Polly was…a lapse in judgment. If we were investigating the murder of Polly Cooper, you might be a suspect. But you're hurting most. Other than moi, of course."

Millie dropped her bag to the ground and hug Cheryl as tightly as she could. She didn't let go until Cheryl protested that she was messing up her hair. She didn't stop until Cheryl finally hugged her back. "I missed you so much, Cher. I'm sorry I was such an awful friend."

"Heartbreak does terrible things to people, Mimi. Let's never let it tear us apart again."

* * *

_Millicent Miller sat in Cheryl Blossom's bedroom. Cheryl was wearing Jason's Riverdale Middle School Basketball team jacket. She posed a few times in the mirror before taking it off and offering it to Millie._

_ "You should try it on. You'll be wearing it soon enough." Millie felt her cheeks grow hot. She hadn't said aloud that she had a crush on Jason, but Cheryl knew her well enough to figure it out. "Jason likes you, Mimi, and I don't mean as friends. He likes you with about seven i's."_

_ "Did he tell you that?" She put the jacket on and Cheryl pulled her hair out from the collar. Millie admired herself in the mirror. If Jason liked her, then she could be the first girl in the sixth grade to have a boyfriend. The fact that Jason was a whole year older than her (and the most attractive boy in school) made it even more exciting. _

_ "Heather, JayJay, and I are coming to your dance competition. He's bringing you flowers and he's going to ask you to go to Pop's for a milkshake after. Just the two of you." Millie looked to Cheryl for signs that she was upset. As much as she loved Cheryl, she could be possessive – especially with her friends. It helped when Heather joined their inner circle. She took some of the pressure of Jason and Millie. "Don't worry. Jason asked for my blessing and I gave it to him. I only ask one thing of you."_

_ "What's that?" It didn't matter what it was. Millie would do anything to keep her best friend and get the boy._

_ "You have to marry him, silly. Then we'll really be sisters." Millie looked at her reflection again. She could get used to wearing Jason Blossom's letterman's jacket._

* * *

When Millie entered biology class, Tina and Ginger were circling Cheryl like prey. They clearly hadn't realized that they were amateurs and Cheryl was the queen. She would rip them to shreds with one perfectly manicured hand tied behind her back.

"Back in July, you told the po-po Jason drowned," Ginger said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Hoping for compassion at Riverdale High had been a poor choice. "Yet, we come to find out that Jason didn't drown. He was shot. That's slightly suspicious, no?"

"Are you living mannequins suggesting I had something to do with my brother's death?" Part of Millie wanted to stop the whole thing, but the other part wanted to let Cheryl annihilate them.

"We're just curious," Tina said, as spineless as ever. Ginger and Tina wanted to use Jason's death to dethrone Cheryl and Millie was not going to let that happen. She locked eyes with Jughead. He seemed to sense what she was about to do. Jughead shook his head, begging her not to. It was a shame she wasn't going to listen.

"Cheryl did not kill Jason," Millie growled, knocking Tina and Ginger's books off the table with a sweep of her arm. "Anyone with half a brain could see that, but that's probably why you needed it spelled out for you."

"Well, where were you that weekend, Millie," Ginger asked, ignoring the books scattered on the floor. Tina went to pick all of them up. "Maybe you were mad that Jason dumped you for Polly."

The room became silent and Millie could feel her cheeks turning red. Not from embarrassment, but anger. Millie and Cheryl locked eyes.

"I was at a publicized dance competition. People with talent are invited to those. I'm sure you've never been."

"If you two trolls want to live at the bottom of my pyramid, I'd turn around," Cheryl snapped. "I may not have murdered my brother, but I'll have no problem murdering your reputation at Riverdale High."

Dr. Phylum entered the classroom before Tina and Ginger could say another word. It was dissection day, which meant everyone had to partner off. Millie assumed that she would partner with Cheryl, but Archie called her before Millie could say a word. Veronica requested Betty, which seemed odd after Cheryl's party. The weirdest of all was that Moose partnered with Kevin Keller. Millie sat next to Jughead without asking him to be her partner. She would have suspected that he would have been with Jughead, but something was off about them. A lot could happen in a year, she knew, but she never thought their friendship would fall apart.

Archie must have said something to Cheryl, because she answered loudly, directly looking to Tina and Ginger and said ", Oh, you mean because my brother is being dissected with a blade, just like this one at this very minute? Don't worry. I'm fine."

Cheryl stabbed the blade into a frog as a warning to all who dared accuse her of killing her own brother. It was a bold move, but one word rang in Millie's head. Dissected. Of course, there was going to be an autopsy. It made sense. That's what happened after someone was murdered because... Jason didn't just drown. Deep down, they all felt it. It was too ridiculous to believe that the captain of the water polo team drowns.

Looking around the classroom, Millie saw students digging into their frogs and searching through their guts. Juices poured out. How many were left in Jason? He must have been waterlogged after spending so much time in Sweetwater River. The coroner was probably digging out Jason's heart right now despite Millie knowing it belonged to her. Maybe he had dated Polly Cooper last, but he had dated Millie for nearly three years. He was her boyfriend and someone was slicing him open like the students dismantled their frogs. Even she had a blade in her hand.

Jughead was saying something to her, but Millie wasn't paying attention. He was probably asking if she was okay and she was supposed to say yes. She was supposed to lie. Of course, she wasn't okay. Hadn't Dr. Phylum thought this through? For a smart man, didn't he have the sense not to dissect frogs on the day they were dissecting Jason Blossom? No, Millie was not okay. She may never be again.

Jughead rested his hand on her shoulder. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't breathe. Millie couldn't find air and she thought that she may suffocate in that very classroom. Right now, the coroner was pulling a heart out of Jason Blossom's chest and Millie was certain it was hers. She dropped the blade and she ran.

She didn't know where she was going, but she knew that she didn't belong in that classroom. Going home wasn't an option. Her house keys sat in her bag in the biology lab and she couldn't fathom walking back in. Maybe Cheryl would grab her things for her. Maybe they were gone forever. Things she could let go. Jason Blossom? Millie could never.

There was a small janitor's closet under the stairs and Millie closed the door behind her and crumpled to the ground. Moments later the door opened again and Jughead Jones entered with both of their backpacks over his shoulders. When he dropped down beside her, Millie burst into tears. Her sobs were ugly and loud. Jughead tentatively put his arm around her and Millie flung her arms around him with all her might. She held onto Jughead as tightly as she wished she had held onto Jason.


	6. Chapter 5: Can you spell it?

When Isadora first saw Reggie Mantle in the hallway on Monday morning, he had pushed Jughead Jones and called him "Wednesday Addams." Reggie walked by Izzy without a second glance. Seven minutes in heaven was a party game, Izzy knew that, but she had hoped that maybe it had meant something to Reggie. It wasn't that she liked him, because she certainly did not, but she thought that it should have made her worth acknowledging.

When he approached her before third period, she hoped it was to apologize for ignoring earlier that morning. It wasn't.

"Is your sister hooking up with Jones?" Izzy had hoped that what Reggie had said in the closet meant that he liked her more than her sister. She didn't need him to _like_ her, but everyone always seemed to like Millie more than her. "Because I need to know if I need to kick his ass."

"I'm not my sister's keeper, Reggie." Izzy thought it was adorable how puzzled he looked at her words. He clearly hadn't heard the phrase before. She felt her cheeks heat up at the mere idea of Reggie being adorable.

Izzy wanted to handle Reggie the way a River Vixen should. She wanted to be like Cheryl Blossom and tell Reggie off in a sexy way or be aloof and vague like Millie would. Instead, she stared at Reggie with her mouth women, gapping like a fish.

"I'm just trying to do right by my boy, Jason. When you see her, tell her I'm looking for her." Reggie walked away and Izzy wanted to call after him. She wanted to say what she wasn't allowed to say. Millie wasn't Jason's girl anymore. Polly Cooper was.

* * *

_Three Days Before:_

_On the morning of July 1__st__, just after 5:00 AM, Isadora Miller watched Jason Blossom climb down the tree out of Millie's window and run across the lawn. He turned back and blew a kiss towards Millie's window. _

_ At 5:30 AM, Izzy quietly tiptoed into her sister's bedroom. She wanted to comfort her as a sister should, she knew Millie's heart broke without Jason, but Millie was fast asleep._

_ Just after 6:00 AM, Izzy looked out her window again and saw Jason jogging down the street, towards the Cooper house._

* * *

Jughead Jones knew it was dangerous to be Millicent Miller's friend. She got him to do things that he definitely shouldn't be doing. He ran out of a frog dissection, skipped two periods, and got himself a seat at the top of Reggie Mantle's shit list. The worst of it was that he couldn't say no to her. When she stared at him with a tear soak face and said, " Promise me we'll find out who killed him"; Jughead foolishly promised.

When she finally convinced herself to leave the closet and the pair went their separate ways, she kissed him on the cheek. He had gotten flustered and she laughed an adorable little sound and pinched his cheek. He watched her walk away before heading in the opposite direction.

Maybe he if didn't watch her or if he hadn't followed her out of that lab, he wouldn't have ended up in front of the music room. Jughead might not have looked through the window of the door and seen Archie Andrews kiss Ms. Grundy.

* * *

"I don't understand you, Cooper," Millie said after Vixen's practice. Somehow, she had managed to slip back into class without having to talk about her feelings. She spent lunch hiding in a bathroom stall with her feet up and flustered Reggie by telling her that she had cramps and needed to see the nurse. "First you're partnered with Veronica in biology and now you're fighting with her and getting mani-pedis with Cheryl. With _Cheryl_, Betty."

"Cheryl Blossom is your friend. If you can see the good in her, then so can I." Millie could tell that Betty was up to something, but she had the suspicion that it had more to do with Veronica than Cheryl, so she could let it go. For now. "Are you okay? You never came back to biology class. Don't let Tina and Ginger get to you. Everyone knows that you loved Jason."

"I don't care about them, Betty. It was about what Cheryl said. About Jason's autopsy. I couldn't cut something one while they were doing the same to him." Cheryl was waiting by the door for Betty, tapping the imaginary watch on her wrist. "Just…call me if things go South, okay?"

Betty nodded and walked to meet Cheryl. Millie noticed Veronica Lodge watching them wistfully. She understood why Betty was upset with Veronica, but she felt for her too. Obviously, she kissed Archie or Betty wouldn't be this upset, but she hadn't wanted to go in that closet. Cheryl really didn't give her much choice.

She had planned to walk home after practice, but she was surprised to find Reggie Mantle waiting for her by his car. Isadora gave Millie a strange look before hurrying away. Millie was disgusted to see Reggie check Izzy out as she walked by. She thought about avoiding Reggie, but she knew that she had to face him. Without so much as a "hello", she tossed her bag into the backseat of his car.

"Frog dissections make me sick. Can't we do this stuff online now? Should Peta do something about this?" She didn't wait for a reaction before climbing into his passenger seat and buckling up. "Hurry up, Mantle. I have to get home before I head to the studio."

They had barely made it out of the parking lot before he asked the question she was trying to avoid. "What's up with you and Wednesday Addams?"

"Nothing," she answered quickly. A smarter boy would be harder to lie to, but she wasn't afraid of overestimating Reggie. "I heaved in the ggirl'sbathroom. He just wanted an excuse to get out of class."

"Well, watch out. I think he's into you and we both know that he's not your type."

"And who is, Reggie? You?" She had never seen Reggie Mantle blush. His reaction was beyond blushing. His face turned into a tomato.

Jason and Reggie had been friends. They social hierarchy of Riverdale demanded it. Jason Blossom was the golden boy of Riverdale and Reggie was on the football and water polo team. If didn't like you, Reggie was an arrogant and pompous jerk who could be insufferably relentless. If he did, then he was a sweet and loyal puppy. A lot of the boys could forgive him behavior because he was really good at football. "Jason was my friend. He asked me to look out for you. I'm just doing what he asked."

"What would Jason ask you to look out for me? Why not Polly?"

"I don't know. Jason just said your mom wrote him a letter and he needed me to look out of you. I didn't ask questions." Her mom hadn't mentioned writing a letter. Cassandra hadn't even particularly gotten along with the Blossoms. She thought boys were a distraction, but Jason didn't seem to keep her from dance class. No one ever knew what to think of Jason's parents though.

Cassandra was a few years younger than the Clifford and Penelope, though Lionel had been their year at school. They didn't like to talk about high school. Actually, they didn't like to talk to each other. Lionel was an airline pilot and often away overnight and Cassandra was determined to make her children into dancers. They even had a few years of vocal lessons in case there was ever a really good musical audition. Millie had always dreamed of her mother seeing her in a production of West Side Story. Her mom had never seemed worried about anything besides dancing and the studio, so why did she write a letter to Jason? And why did he pass off the task to Reggie?

Millie reached for her phone. Sure, she had been embarrassed that she cried in front of earlier, but he had agreed to help her solve Jason Blossom's murder. That was more important than her pride. She typed:

_To Jughead:_

_My mom wrote a letter to Jason before he died._

It only took him moments to respond:

_To Millie:_

_"What did it say?"_

As she was answering, Reggie pulled up in front of her house. She didn't live far from Riverdale High School. She was down the street from Betty Cooper and Archie Andrews. They walked to school every day. "Thanks for the ride, Mantle. I'll see you around."

"Ah, so before you go – " For a moment, she really thought Reggie was going to ask her out, despite everything he had told her. It would even be a relief, because it would mean that he lied about her mom writing to Jason. "Does your sister ever ask about me?"

* * *

Darius wasn't used to being popular. He hadn't made varsity, but being on any level of the football team earned him respect. People stopped asking him if he was gay in an accusatory way. Hell, in middle school Cheryl had told him that he should ask out Kevin Keller. Millie swore it was an honest mistake, but he couldn't believe that. Jason was always indifferent towards him because he didn't want to upset Millie, but Reggie Mantle was sometimes brutal. Now, he was sitting with Reggie and the football team in the student lounge. Reggie was telling all of them about his interview with Sherriff Keller. Everyone on the football team was getting interviewed. Lionel had even accompanied Darry to the station to answer some basic questions. Mostly about locker room talk.

Darry did nothing as Reggie asked Moose why he had been at Sweetwater River with Kevin Keller, because he didn't want to go down that path again. He could see Izzy shooting him a dirty look from across the lounge. Izzy had been acting strange whenever someone mentioned Reggie's name (Darry assumed it was because she thought that he didn't know about what happened between the two at Cheryl Blossom's party), but even she didn't have time for his homophobia. Luckily, Reggie moved on quickly. Unluckily, he moved onto Jughead Jones.

"Let's be honest," Reggie said, loud enough for everyone in the lounge to hear. "Isn't it always some spooky, scrawny, pathetic internet troll, too busy writing his manifestos to get laid? Some smug, moody, serial killer fanboy freak like Jughead? He's be spending a lot of time going after Jason's girl."

The football team laughed, but Darry didn't join them. He locked eyes with Betty Cooper, who looked worried. He should do something. Reggie didn't stop. "What was it like, Suicide Squad? When you shot Jason? You didn't do stuff to the boy, did you? Like…after?"

"It's called necrophilia, Reggie. Can you spell it?"

Reggie leapt across the table at Jughead and all of the football team stood up. Darry would have been embarrassed that he didn't stop Reggie, but he didn't have to. Archie Andrews was there to defend Jughead. Of course, that only made Reggie more arrogant and things escalated – quickly. "Do you guys kill Jason together? Was it some sort of pervy blood brother thing?"

Archie pushed Reggie and Reggie shoved him into the vending machine, shattering the glass. Moose held back Jughead, who tried to help Archie, and Archie tackled Reggie. Darry had enough. He went to pull the boys apart, but ended up getting elbowed in the face by Archie Andrews. It didn't take Reggie long to get the upper hand and slug Archie in the face.

In the end ,it was Izzy who stopped the fight. She shook a bottle of soda and sprayed the boys, causing Reggie to scatter. The football team cared more about their precious jackets than punching Archie.

"Damn, girl," Veronica said. It was so unlike shy and quiet Izzy to be bold. Darry was proud of her. Izzy tossed the empty can at Reggie before walking out. Darry noticed her hands were shaking, but he doubted the rest of the room even knew to look.

After, when Darry went to get some ice, he ran into Betty Cooper, who was already holding a bag. She smiled up at him and he felt warm all over. The entire school knew that Archie had rejected Betty, which made it a lot easier to watch Archie get punched in the face.

"I brought you ice. It was really cool of you to try and stop the fight." Betty led him over to a bench and gently pressed the ice to his face.

"I should have done more," Darry confessed, not meeting Betty's eyes. "Sometimes…I'm so afraid of getting bullied again. Not about dancing. About liking dancing when I _don't_ like dancing. I never did."

"You like photography."

"And football. I always wanted to play sports. Look, I know I'm not great in school, but I'm good at football. I want to be good. I like doing things with my hands." When he finally looked into Betty's eyes, he saw understanding. Betty Cooper may have been Archie's girl-next-door, but it didn't long for her to be more to Darry. "My mom was so obsessed with making all of us into dancers that she never really cared what I wanted. I always had to be her version of perfect."

"That sounds really hard," Betty admitted. "My mom is the same way. She's so worried about me being like Polly that she doesn't even see who _I_ want to be. If you ever want to talk to someone who understands that, know that I'm here."

Darry didn't know much about math or science, but he knew when someone was good. Betty Cooper was good.

* * *

The morning after the pep rally, Millie was working her shift at Pop's. Jughead Jones was seated in a booth with his laptop in front of him, like always. After she cleared two tables and made the rounds with her coffee pot, she sat down across from him.

Last night, at the pep rally, Cheryl had run off stage and into the locker room. Veronica and Millie had followed her and when they comforted her, she kept saying "He was supposed to come back." At first, Millie thought it was because they never found a body and Cheryl had been hopeful. Now, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She couldn't let it go. Millie checked her phone. No word from Cheryl.

"I've been working on a list of what we know about Jason's murder. I think we should lay out all the facts and then start looking at suspects." Jughead was watching her over his laptop the same way everyone was, as though she was about to break. Millie rubbed her lower back, her muscles were sore. This week, she had danced twenty-five hours without including her time as a Vixen. She was behind on homework, but she wasn't too worried. After graduation, Millie was heading back to New York to start auditioning. Her C average would get her a diploma. "That is, if you still want to do this."

"Jug, I don't want to do this. I need to. I can't live my life wondering." Jughead nodded in his silent but stoic way. She couldn't help thinking about how fundamentally different they were. He was smart, weird, and sa crawny loner in a beanie he never took off. She was a ballerina with a strong physique who took spent her free time painting Cheryl Blossom's nails.

They had been close when they were kids, but the summer before sixth grade changed everything. Millie had been in a lyrical dance intensive with Cheryl Blossom and it was clear they were the best in the class. For the big show, she and Cheryl choregraphed a dance for just the two of them. It was the best number in ethe ntire show, better than the numbers performed by the older girls. After the show, Cheryl had invited her to a sleepover and she had been welcomed into the Blossom home. Penelope Blossom made jokes about how lovely it was that Cheryl had finally found a redheaded friend and Jason had played board games with them until it was time for bed. After lights out, the girls laid in Chery's bed and whispered their darkest secrets to each other and promised to be friends forever.

"Then you won't," Jughead answered. "We'll find out exactly what happened to Jason Blossom."

Millie held out her pinky to Jughead just like she did when they were kids. He rolled his eyes, but wrapped his pinky around hers. A pinky promise could never be broken and this one was no exception.

"But," Jughead continued, still holding onto her pinky. "I'm going to need more pancakes. For fuel."

* * *

On Friday morning, Millie sat next to Moose in biology. She had come in at the last possible second, so she wouldn't have to worry about where to sit. She knew that Reggie would be checking and after his fight with Archie, she didn't want to talk about Jughead.

The truth was, Reggie Mantle was useful. He had been friends with Jason and seemed to trust her. She didn't want to piss him off until she was sure that he had nothing else to give her. Besides, Jughead would never look at her like that and she couldn't even think about dating.

Before class could start, Principal Weatherbee walked in with Sherriff Keller and Cheryl stood up. "You're here for me, aren't you? Because of the autopsy?"

"We don't need to do this in front of your classmates Cheryl." Millie held her breathe. She needed to hear Cheryl ask if they had solved it. Millie really hoped they were there to say it was over.

"It's all right, Principal Weatherbee. They'll find out soon enough." Cheryl held out her wrists for handcuffs. It was Veronica who asked the question. "Wait, Cheryl, find out what?"

Then Cheryl said the one thing that Millie never thought she'd hear. The one statement that would change everything she thought she knew. "That I'm guilty."


	7. Millicent Miller is going to dye

A few days later, Darry walked into the reinstated Blue and Gold headquarters. Betty had texted him and asked if he was ready to start. When he arrived, Jughead Jones was there with his crown beanie and a smirk.

"Darry! You came. Good," Betty said. Darry nervously put his camera bag down onto the table. "I asked Jughead to write for the Blue and Gold too. He's been writing a book about Riverdale."

"About Jason Blossom," Darry finished. Jughead squirmed a bit, just as he had the night Darry went to him at Pop's. Darry remembered how surprised he had been to see him and how concerned he had looked when he told Jughead about Millie. "Millie told me."

"I want to be honest with you," Betty continued. She always wore pink lipstick. Darry liked that. "We're going to do a lot of digging into the Jason Blossom murder. I know it might be a sore subject with you given your sister – "

_ The night before, Millie had knocked on his bedroom door. She was sweaty after long hours in the studio. Their dad was concerned that she was overworked, but Millie had been ignoring their father since their mother had told her about the affair. Lionel Miller had very little idea how to properly parent Millie - other than making her get a job._

_ "I need to ask you something," she had said. At the time, Darry had welcomed the distraction because he was working on an English assignment that he didn't really understand. Until she said the dreaded words: "It's about Mom."_

_ Darry took his job as the eldest sibling very seriously. He knew that he wasn't as smart as Izzy or as dedicated as Millie, but he knew how to protect someone. Cassandra Miller was flawed in ways that everyone but Millie could recognize. Before her, the past three generations of Cassandra's family had been professional dancers. She was supposed to continue the legacy until she got unexpectedly pregnant right out of high school. In her mind, she seemed to think making her three children dancers would make up for her lost career. Darry loved his mother, but his siblings couldn't see what he did. Cassandra Miller was sick and there was so much more to every story she told. Darry wished he didn't know. _

_ "She wrote letters to Jason. At least, she wrote one letter. I was wondering if you knew anything about that." He didn't, but he wasn't surprised. Darry did know something that Millie didn't. Cassandra Miller hated Jason Blossom. _

_ "She never mentioned it to me," Darry answered honestly. "How'd you find out?"_

_ "Reggie said something, but you know how he is. He probably got mixed up." She didn't really think that and Darry knew that she would drive herself crazy until she found out. _

_ "I would drop it." _

_ "Totally," she agreed, nodding her head. Darry knew better. Millie only said "totally" when she was lying. _

Betty didn't even have to finish the question. "I'm in."

* * *

Millie was alone in the studio, working at the ballet barre when Cheryl Blossom entered. Cheryl wore a Blossom red leotard and joined Millie at the barre.

"I have the room for another forty-five minutes, Cheryl." Cheryl had texted her sixteen times and called her three. The story had made its way around the school. Jason Blossom had planned to run away and fake his own death and Cheryl had rowed him to the other side of Sweetwater River and said he drowned. Millie didn't know what to say.

"You never called me back. Or answered my texts. You missed Vixen's practice." Millie had to laugh. Leave it to Cheryl, to be worried about cheerleading during a murder investigation. "You know I wouldn't hurt Jason. I never suspect- "

"I know you didn't murder him, Cheryl!" Millie walked away from the barre and grabbed her water bottle, drinking deeply.

"Then why are you mad at me?" Cheryl tried to pull Millie's water bottle from her hand, but Millie grabbed the end and squirted Cheryl, causing her to set back.

"Because I loved Jason! I loved him and you never told me. You thought he was alive and coming back and you watched me mourn him. Everything I thought I knew wasn't true." While Cheryl wiped Millie's water from her face, Millie rubbed at her eyes. "I would have kept Jason's secret."

Cheryl looked close to tears, but Millie couldn't feel sorry for her. She was so angry. At the world. At Cheryl. At herself. "Mimi, I was going to tell yo- "

"Save it," Millie spat. "Jason told me on July 1st that he loved me and then he left. He left without saying goodbye and you couldn't even tell me why. I'm done with you, Cheryl. I quit the stupid River Vixens."

Millie went back to the barre and stretched her leg, thinking she had gotten the last word, but that wasn't Cheryl's nature. Instead, Cheryl walked right up to Millie and took a deep drink from the water bottle. Then she squirted Millie in the face. "Actually, you weeping widow, you won't be quitting. Do you know why?"

Cheryl pushed Millie's leg off the barre and thrust the water bottle back into her hands. "You see, little Dora is on the team. She loves it. She loves the pep rallies and the parties and the closet rendezvous with Reggie Mantle. It would be a shame for me to have to take that away. I'll see you at practice. Tomorrow. Do not be late."

When Cheryl left, it felt as though she took all of the air out of the room. Millie looked down at her water bottle. A bright red lipstick stain was around the nozzle.

* * *

Darry was in the locker room after an early morning practice, when Veronica Lodge came storming in, dragging Betty Cooper behind her. He didn't have to wonder why. Chuck Clayton was not only the team captain, but the biggest creep on campus. Since his dad was the coach of the football team, he thought he was untouchable. Reggie Mantle may be a jerk, but Darry even liked him better than Chuck.

That morning, Chuck posted a picture on Instagram announcing that Veronica had given him a "sticky maple" on their date last night. Riverdale was a town run by maple syrup, but Darry thought that was taking it too far. Darry had been playing nice with Chuck, taking all of his pointers and telling him how great the plays were because he thought it would make his life easier. He was familiar with locker room talk, but that morning Chuck had shown him something vile.

Chuck called it the playbook. The boys kept scores of their "conquests" and Chuck was currently in the lead. After seeing the names in the book, Darry knew he couldn't play nice for much longer. Once Veronica stormed out, after being harassed once again but Chuck Clayton and the barking football team, Darry knew it was his time to strike.

Clapping Chuck on the back, he said, "I think it's time to add the new girl to the playbook."

Chuck nodded in appreciation and opened his locker. Darry watched him very closely.

* * *

At lunch, Millicent joined Jughead under the bleachers, fuming. She didn't say anything about the school she had skipped on the texts that she hadn't answered, instead, she told him exactly what happened at the studio the night before with Cheryl Blossom.

"She cared that much about having you on the River Vixens?" Millie wanted more outrage from Jughead. He just seemed amused, like he didn't fully grasp the horror Cheryl had inflected on her life. Millie had never been as hurt as she was by Cheryl Blossom.

"She probably thinks that I'm just going to get over it. I'm going to pour maple syrup in her shampoo, Juggy. God, who does she think she is?" While Jughead sat on the ground, eating her lunch, Millie paced back and forth.

"Millie, just think for a minute. Sit down. Eat. When's the last time you ate?"

"I had a granola bar last night. I'm fine. I lost my appetite when my boyfriend was murdered and my best friend betrayed me." She didn't even want to think about Vixen's practice after school. Millie was probably going to be at the bottom of the pyramid and the most critiqued. She knew that Cheryl was going to find some way to turn her into a puppet.

"Mil, you can't run on granola and rage." Millie sighed in defeat and slumped down next to Jughead. He headed her and apple and she bit into obediently. Jughead patted her on the head like a dog and she flicked his ear. Instead of getting angry, he smirked at her. She wished that she had stayed friends with him and Betty instead of switching to the Blossom side.

Things got worse for Millie. After Vixens practice, Cheryl pulled her aside. "Mimi, meet me outside the school tonight. Nine o'clock. Don't be late. You know the consequences."

Isadora was possibly the smartest person that Millie had ever met. Izzy loved learning the way Millie loved dancing. Her quiet demeanor and love of all things reptile didn't earn her a lot of friends in school. Izzy had never been great with people or standing up for herself, but returning to Riverdale had been great for her. Since joining the River Vixens, she was smiling more than ever. Just last weekend, she went to the mall with Midge Klump and some other River Vixens. Last night, she had asked Millie to borrow blue nail polish. Izzy even added a glitter accent nail.

Though Millie wasn't sure how she felt about Izzy having her first kiss with Reggie Mantle, she couldn't be the reason it was all taken away from her. So that night she let Cheryl drag her into Riverdale High after hours. Veronica, Betty, Ethel, and Kevin were there with flashlights. Cheryl snippily filled Millie in on the mission. Ethel had told them that Chuck Clayton and the football team were keeping a tally of their hookups – rating girls with a number.

"Jason would never have let that happen," Millie told Veronica, who rolled her eyes. Betty spun Chuck's lock and opened the door on the first try. Despite what Millie said, the book was there. Chuck had written both Veronica and Ethel's names in the book, along with nicknames and comments. It wasn't just their names. There were dozens of girls, all with values. Next to Jason's name was Polly Coopers and –

"Millicent Miller," she read aloud. She recognized Jason's handwriting right away. "Ten points, but minus four for the wait. Plus two for flexibility."

"Maybe I didn't know Jason at all," Cheryl admitted. Millie ran out of the locker room. As far as she was concerned, her "debt" to Cheryl had been paid.

* * *

Isadora read Betty's article about the football team as soon as it came out. Darry had warned her. He let her read the book before returning it to Betty. She checked for two names. Only one was on there.

It didn't take her long to find Reggie. He was in the student lounge, with some fellow Bulldogs, but they weren't rowdy like they usually were. They were hunched forward and whispering. Through the window, Izzy caught Reggie's eye. She pointed her finger at him and curled it into a "come hither" motion that she had seen in a movie. When he came out, she pulled him away from the lounge and under the staircase, where they couldn't be heard.

"I saw the playbook, Mantle," Izzy growled, trying her best to sound threatening. She didn't know how threatening she could be to a giant like Reggie, but she tried.

"Look, I know Jason wrote your sister's name," he admitted, looking guilty. "It was after Thanksgiving break and I don't know what happened but he came back pissed at your sister. A few weeks later he was dating Polly."

"That's not what it's about, Reggie. You hang out with those guys all the time." Reggie shoved his hands into her jacket pockets and looked down. "You could have put me in that book and you didn't."

"…I don't know. You don't deserve that. I didn't tell anyone anything about what happened. They can think whatever they want but…"

"But what," Izzy asked. Reggie finally met her eyes and her stomach flipped.

"I wanted to keep it between us." Just like that, Izzy fell for Reggie Mantle and there was no coming back.

* * *

Even though she wasn't working, Millie sat across from Jughead in a booth at Pop's. Pop had been nice enough to give her a bag of ice for her ankle. It wasn't really unusual. Millie had skipped three days of school and gone to the studio, so she overworked it a bit. It had happened before. Her mom had been close friends with the owner, so Millie was allowed to come and go. Most of the serious dance students were.

Jughead had insisted they meet here. He bought her a burger to "make up for the meals she had missed" but she knew better. Everyone had seen Betty's article in the Blue and Gold and Jughead felt sorry for her. He offered to help her catch up on the homework she missed, which had hoped meant he was going to let her copy his. It didn't.

"Dilton Doiley shot the gun on July 4th, which doesn't matter because Jason died on July 11th." Millie was getting cynical. She knew that she and Jughead wouldn't solve a case that the cops couldn't crack in a few days, but she had hoped for something. The latest Blossom betrayal was weighing on her. "I know Riverdale runs on their maple syrup, but the Blossoms are really putting me through the wringer."

"Well, the entire staff of Blue and Gold is on the case. Of course, it's just me, Betty, and your brother right now…"

"My _brother_?" She and Darry hadn't been close since starting high school, but he at least should have told her that he was joining the super sleuths.

"He's our photographer," Jughead answered, ignoring her surprise. "He's actually the one who got Chuck's locker combination. He might be a football player, but credit where credit is due."

"I'm sure he was thrilled to find out that his sister earned two points for flexibility." Jughead, who had been drinking a milkshake, choked and turned red. Millie didn't have any problems confiding in Jughead anymore. He was her closest friend in Riverdale. She told him about her fights with Cheryl, her dad's apathy, and her mom's letter to Jason. After everything that had happened since coming back, Millie was out of embarrassment. "Jug, I'm scared of what we're going to find next."

"Do you want to stop looking?"

"No." Millie shook her head. "I need to know, but I do need your help with something else.

When Millie walked into school the next day, Cheryl Blossom did a double take. Millie wore blue, which she hoped Cheryl knew meant that she was done with red in every possible way. Instead of going straight to her locker, she walked up to Reggie. His friends were surrounding him, but she didn't care. She pushed right through them.

"Reggie, did you know about Chuck's perv book?" The look on his face was all she needed. "Reggie Mantle, you're fired. I don't need a bodyguard. I can take care of myself."

She left him speechless and went to her locker, where her locker neighbor, Kevin Keller was gawking at her. In her mirror, she admired her hair. It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good considering it was done by Jughead Jones at ten o'clock at night. She snuck him into her house and into her bathroom, where they watched a YouTube video and he dyed her hair a chocolaty brown. Filling in her eyebrows had been difficult, she had to dip into an eyeshadow palette, but she would color those too. She wasn't marked by red anymore. Millie liked it. She liked it a lot.


	8. Chapter 7: Jonesing for the Drive-In

The last night the Drive-In was opened, Darry had asked Isadora if she wanted to go. She had told him that she had other plans. He seemed disappointed and she guessed it was because Betty Cooper had spent most of the week hounding Archie Andrews. Izzy didn't know what it was about but given the amount of time Darry was spending with Betty, she figured it had a little to do with jealousy. She wasn't sure what Darry ended up doing, but she was happy exactly where she was.

When Reggie had asked her to the drive-in, she wanted to rush to someone to talk about it. It was too much for her to keep to herself. Her sister was walking around in a cloud of angst and she couldn't talk to Darry about boys. She even considered Cheryl Blossom, but given the iciness between Cheryl and her sister, she decided against it. In the end, Veronica Lodge helped her pick out an outfit.

"Girl, you have to borrow this. Reggie will die," Veronica cooed. She curled Izzy's hair and contoured her cheekbones. Izzy was partially a doll, complete with a little black skirt, tights, and silver top. A Loge makeover was just like a scene in a movie and Izzy loves every minute of it. "Reggie's cute, but remember that you're cuter. He's so clearly into you."

"Really?" In one evening, Veronica had acted more like a sister in a movie than Millie ever had. Of course, Izzy loved her sister. She couldn't be mad at her, especially with everything going on. While all of the Miller children were sad, Millie had taken their mother's death the hardest. Cassandra Miller cared more about dancers than children and while Millie fit the bill, Izzy never had. She refused to learn pointe because of what it could do to her feet, where Millie asked for pointe shoes for her tenth birthday.

Jason Blossom's murder was understandably hard on Millie. Even if they had been broken up for a while, Millie still loved him and Jason was so young. When they moved to New York, Millie had been heartbroken over leaving Jason and Cheryl. Coming back to Cheryl without Jason was even harder. "Word around Riverdale's hallowed halls is that whatever happened in that closet really hooked Reggie. He's almost as attached to as I am to my pearls."

"Can I tell you a secret?" Veronica sat down on the couch next to Izzy.

"Women have to stick together, especially after the whole Chuck Clayton debacle." She knew that people thought Veronica was stuck up and over-the-top, but Izzy had only seen a girl who wanted friends, just like she did. Izzy hadn't had close friends in New York and Veronica didn't seem to keep in touch with any of hers. Veronica ran after Cheryl when she left the pep rally, even though she had been rude to Veronica _and _she believed Ethel before there was any proof. When Veronica said Izzy could trust her, she believed her.

"I'm really nervous. I've never been on a date before. Reggie…Reggie was my first kiss. I've never really flirted with anyone before." Veronica smiled at her, even though she was only a year older, she seemed so much wiser. Izzy wished she could talk to her own sister like this.

"Be yourself. The girl I've seen? She's incredible. You've stopped a fight in the student lounge so I know you're brave when you need to be. You're a River Vixen, so I know you've got the moves. Not to mention that you're a genius who skipped a grade. But you know what matters the most?"

Izzy shook her head. Veronica stood up and pulled a necklace from her jewelry box. She turned Izzy towards the mirror. As she put it around her neck, she said, "You're kind. Most people turn up their noses at me because of my dad or the whole sticky maple mess, but not you. You're the whole package, Isadora Miller. Don't you forget it."

Having friends like Veronica made Izzy feel like she could do anything. Maybe next weekend, she'd ask Veronica to her house, she'd invite Millie, and they'd all become the best of friends.

At the drive-in, Izzy shivered next to Reggie. They were sitting in his car, watching Rebel Without A Cause. Izzy tried to pay for her ticket but Reggie refused, so she treated them to sodas and popcorn. "I can turn on the heat."

"It's okay. I'm fine." So far, Izzy had been so nervous that it was hard to speak. She was still recovering for her story about Horace sneaking up on her and kissing her ear while she was trying to study. It wasn't until she saw Reggie's face that she realized she forgot to mention that Horace was her snake. It was hard coming back from that.

Reggie scooted closer to her. His car, technically his dad's car, was great for the drive-in. It was an old school car with bench seats. He put his arm around her shoulders. "Better?"

"Much better," she answered, looking up at him. Reggie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her gently. The second she got home, she was texting Veronica.

* * *

Jughead sat in the projection booth. He chose to watch the movie from there since it would be his last night there. He'd be sleeping there for a while when things with his family fell apart. He was surprised when the door opened and Millie came in. She didn't just walk in, she limped. Millie definitely noticed the bed but didn't say anything about it.

"How did you get up here?" Millie took what looked like a painful step towards him and grabbed the only other chair in the booth, tossing the laundry that was on top of it onto the floor.

"The guy who owns it tried to stop me, but I told him that I was your girlfriend." Jughead rolled his eyes, but he couldn't keep from blushing. He was friends with Millie when they were kids and he always liked her, but she had come back to Riverdale slightly different. The core of her personality was still there but she was more reckless. She had whatever she wanted without worrying about how uncomfortable it would make people. Before she left, she had smooth and primed edges. Now, she was jagged and emotional. "I wasn't going to come. I've got an audition for a summer ballet intensive up, but the director kicked me out of the studio. Told me I needed rest."

"You look pretty worn out," Jughead admitted gently. He used the same tone that he used to use when Jelly Bean was sick or grumpy. No matter how much she tried to deny it, Millie was hurting. No matter how many burgers he bought her or jokes he told, he couldn't fix that. "Maybe you relax. You can lay in my – the drive-in's bed."

She didn't, of course, but she smiled at him the same way she did when he gave her his last lollipop after she had fallen off her bike in second grade. Millie pulled her chair close to his and placed her hand over his. "You're sweet, Jug. I don't think I'd survive Riverdale without you."

"Yeah, well…I guess it's not so bad having you back." Millie took her hand off his, but Jughead could still feel the heat from where it had been. They watched the rest of the movie together and Millie got a ride home from Kevin and Veronica. Before he said goodbye, he swore to Millie that he was going home after he cleaned up. He didn't like lying to her, to anyone really, but it was his last night at the drive-in and…he didn't have much of a choice.

* * *

The morning after the drive-in, Izzy had brunch with Veronica and Kevin at the Pembrook. She didn't know Kevin well but he came with the Lodge seal of approval, so Izzy was sure she could trust him.

"You're telling me that Reggie Mantle – the only person at Riverdale High who think it's funny to put someone in a locker – told you that he wanted to keep your closet moment special?" Kevin was having trouble seeing Reggie's sweet side and Izzy couldn't blame him. "I don't understand this. You spray a cute boy with soda and he asks you out? Straight people have it so easy."

"Ah, I think you're forgetting Chuck Clayton's sexist scorebook," Veronica answered, offering them both a delicious smelling scone. Veronica lived her life the way Izzy thought was only for television. Everyone moment spent with Veronica gave Izzy a little taste of that magic. Not that Veronica's life was perfect – her father was in jail – but Izzy couldn't help but envy her a little. She had confidence and nice clothes and…both her parents were alive. "Well, Izzy dear, Reggie Mantle is just a few good choices away from a Loge seal of approval. There is…one thing I've been meaning to ask you. If you don't mind."

"Ask away," Izzy said, though she might mind a bit.

"How's your sister? I feel like she hasn't gotten the best impression of me. Not after Cheryl's party, anyway."

"That's an understatement," Kevin interjected. Both girls shot him a look.

"I wish I could tell you, V. The truth is…I don't really know. She's been closed off ever since we moved to New York and now that we're back an Jason was…The only person she really seems to talk to is Jughead."

"What about Cheryl," Kevin asked. "They used to be inseparable. In sixth grade, they would walk down the halls with their pinkies intertwined. Your sister's color was Cheryl Blossom red."

"Kev –" Veronica cut him off. She reached over and put her hand on Izzy's arm. "If she's your sister, then I'm here for her. If there's anything I can do – I'm always here for you. For both of you."

Izzy was lucky to have found a friend like Veronica Lodge. She also cried because she was so happy. Even though Darius said she shouldn't, Izzy felt bad for being so happy. Her mother was dead and Izzy was happier than she had ever been.

* * *

_One Year Before Jason Blossom Cross Sweetwater River:_

_"You're not focusing!" Cassandra Miller stood in front of Isadora in a mostly empty ballet studio. Millie was off to the side, doing her cool downs. "Look at your sister! She's dedicated. She's been practicing. Why haven't you?"_

_ On Pointe, Cassandra's new studio in New York, was having a showcase for protentional clients. She had called in favors with every friend she could, but her children were the real stars. They were her crowning achievement…and they would help fill her younger classes. "Mama, maybe I should work with one of your new instructors. Then you can focus more on your number."_

_ "From the top, Isadora. Again." Isadora got into position. When she refused to learn pointe (a choice her mother called a disgrace), she mother had forced Isadora to focus on tap. She left every rehearsal with a headache. Each tap felt like she was stepping on her own brain. "If you don't get this right, I'll have to cancel your trip to see your father. This is our legacy, Isadora. You need to get this right."_

_ In the end, Isadora wasn't good enough. The trip was ccanceledand while Darius blamed Cassandra, Millie was furious with her. They had been away from Riverdale for one month and it felt like Millie had left Isadora behind with it. She hated dancing and she didn't want to be part of her families legacy. Not if it meant doing what she hated and tearing her family apart. Cassandra said her marriage failed because her husband cheated, but Izzy knew that wasn't true. Her marriage failed because she didn't look at her children as her family, but her company. Lionel always fought her on it. When Izzy asked to join the academic decathlon team, he was thrilled. It was her mother who said no._

_ So Cassandra left and Izzy danced, tapping away Riverdale and any hopes of the life she wanted._

* * *

"Mimi, this is your invitation for Jayjay's memorial. Wear black, obviously. I'm having a sleepover the night before, which you'll want to attend. Veronica Lodge will be there." Millie didn't take the invitation that Cheryl offered her. The redhead has stomped over to her in the locker room after practice. Due to her ankle, Millie had only walked the routine and Cheryl had been uncharacteristically gracious about it. Cheryl could spend as much time as she wanted pretending that everything was fine between them, but Millie never would.

"I'm not going, Cheryl. Wherever he is, Jason can deduct as many points as he wants from my score." Millie slammed her locker for emphasis, determined to have the last word. Before she could leave, Cheryl grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the locker. This caught the attention of Betty and Veronica, who watched from a distance.

"Listen, you jaded black swan, my brother loved you. Maybe he made a mistake and wrote your name in Chuck's stupid pissing contest of a journal, but that doesn't give you the right to stomp all over his legacy." When Betty stepped forward, Millie shook her head. Cheryl released her and the two stared off.

"I'm not going to your sleepover," Millie finally said, yanking the invitation from Cheryl's hand.

"You're officially uninvited. Not that you deserve it, but I have something for you." Cheryl held out an envelope. Millie's name was written on the front in handwriting she recognized instantly. The letter had already been open. "Spare me the insults, when I never heard from Jason, I went looking for clues."

"Are you okay," Betty asked once Cheryl left. Millie sank down onto a bench and the girls sat on either side of her. She rested her head on Betty's shoulders. "I know this is hard, but it's hard on her too."

"As much as I'd love to take a dig at Cherry Bombshell, Betty is right," Veronica continued, tucking a strand of Millie's hair behind her ear. "Why don't you both come to my place? We could have some girl time. Maybe add a few highlights to your hair?"

"You just don't want to be alone with Cheryl and her goons at her sleepover," Millie said. As accusatory as it sounded, she wasn't really upset. Jughead had done a good job on her hair for a boy with no experience, but Veronica Lodge knew beauty. "That actually sounds really nice."

Millie looked to Betty and saw her staring at the letter in her hand. With the two reading over her shoulder, she opened it and read:

_ Millie,_

_ I'm sorry. I'm sorry it had to end like this. Our last night was so perfect, but it was our last. I've made the right choice – I need you to know that. Take care of Cheryl. I'm so sorry about your mom. I wish I could be there for you._

_ Love always,_

_ Jason_

_ P.S. Be happy. Keep dancing._

"Millie," Betty started, but Veronica shushed her. Instead of talking, the girls wrapped their arms around her and let her cry.

* * *

_Two Years Before Jason Went Missing:_

_ "Ow," Millie whined as Cheryl pricked her finger with a sewing needle. "Do we really have to do this? It's kind of gross."_

_ "Oh, Mimi. This will mean that you officially hold Blossom blood. We'll forever be family." Cheryl pressed her own bleeding finger to Millie's. "Not that we'll really be related, so you don't have to worry about Jayjay, but it is an oath. We're bonded together forever. No matter what, your loyalty lies with the Blossoms."_

_ Cheryl pressed her finger firmly against Millie's and twisted with a satisfied smirk. After Cheryl pulled her finger away, the girls wiped off their hands. Millie hadn't wanted to be Cheryl's "blood sister" but Cheryl had needed some proof of loyalty. Heather's family had moved away and she was taking it harder than anyone else. It didn't help that Penelope was smug about it, making comments to Millicent about how she was glad that Millie was the friend who was still around. _

_"I can't tell you how happy I am that my children have you as a friend," Penelope had told her, directly in front of Cheryl. "That other girl was…well, let's not dote on the past. She's gone, thank goodness."_

_ So Millie was determined to do anything that might help Cheryl. A blood oath wasn't a big deal when you were as close as the girls were. Millie couldn't imagine there was anything that would tear them apart._

* * *

"Look, I should tell you this," Betty told Darry the next day in the Blue and Gold room. "You're sister swore me to secrecy, but it's about your family."

Betty didn't want to betray Millie's trust, but she couldn't ignore what Jason wrote in his letter. Darry and Jughead were helping her solve Jason's murder and while Millie was doing the same thing, Betty knew that she couldn't be objective. If the investigation was going where Betty thought it might, she needed to give Darry the chance to back out.

"What are you so worried about, Betty? I can handle." Betty really hoped that he could. Ever since they were little, Betty felt Darry had gotten a raw deal. The kids picked on him for being a boy in dance class and his mother had been high strung. Once Cassandra Miller had heard Hal tell his daughters that the most important part of ballet class was having fun and she scoffed loudly. Betty remembered exactly what she had said: "I suppose some people mistake fun for carelessness. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right."

"Dar, Jason wrote Millie a letter before he left. He told Millie that he was sorry about your mom." Darry was visibly shaken. "Cheryl just gave it to Millie, but Jason wrote it before they went to Sweetwater River."

"Betty, Jason died July 11th. My mom…" Betty grabbed Darry's hand. He had been distant since her fake date with Trev Brown, but now he wrapped his fingers through hers. "Jason wrote that letter before she died. She wrote him a letter before she died and asked him to take care of Millie. Betty, we – "

"We have to find that letter," Betty finished. "And I know just when to do it."

So, the two made a plan. They would sneak into Jason Blossom's room with Jughead and Millie. Millie knew her way around Thornhill better than anyone and they'd be able to search quickly with four people. It was especially easy to sell Jughead on the plan.

Betty thought of herself as an observant person. As such, she knew exactly why Jughead had jumped on the case. He loved a mystery, sure, but what he really loved was Millicent Miller.


	9. Chapter 8: Requiem at Thornhill

Millie stood outside Thornhill with Jughead. The memorial was starting soon, but she was delaying going in as soon as possible. Her father had suggested the Miller's go as a family, but Darry told them that he already had plans to go with Betty. Izzy had even helped him pick out what to wear before she was picked up by Reggie Mantle. So Millie rejected her father's ride and called Jughead, who came dressed in a suit. She felt bad telling him he looked nice before her ex-boyfriends memorial, so she didn't, but she certainly stared for longer than she usually would.

"Why did I agree to come again?"

"Think of it as a recon mission," Jughead answered. Millie looked up an straightened his beanie. Even in front of a casket, he wore his token crown hat. Jughead must have seen how terrified she was because he said ", I won't leave your side."

It didn't take long for Jughead to be tested. As soon as they walked inside, Penelope Blossom rushed to Millie and hugged her tightly. Jughead soon nearby.

"It's so lovely to see you, Millie," Penelope said, stroking Millie's hair. The Blossom family had always been an aggressive fan of her red hair. Penelope pulled away and flinched at the sight of her newly dyed locks. "I can't help but think…how different things might be if you and Jason stayed together. He loved you so."

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Blossom. It's a terrible tragedy." Millie rushed to a seat in the back, pulling Jughead behind her. They sat next to Darry and Betty, who were whispering to one another. Kevin sat in front of them with Archie and Valerie.

"Days like today really put things in perspective, huh," Veronica asked as she sat down. "At least we're here. At least we're alive."

Millie looked around the room. Hal Cooper was by the bar and her father was standing towards the back with Fred Andrews. The Bulldogs were towards the front. Izzy was directly behind Reggie with the other River Vixens, whispering to Midge Klump. The whole ordeal made Millie feel faintly sick. When she thought it couldn't possibly get any worse, a naïve thought for someone living in Riverdale, Cheryl entered dressed completely in white.

She ignored the gasps and whisperings, simply gripping Jughead's arm tightly. Cheryl took the place at the podium and judging by the pinched look on Penelope's face, this wasn't what the Blossoms had planned. "Welcome to Thornhill. Thank you all for coming.

"If you'll kindly take your seats, I'd like to start the memorial with a few words about Jason," Cheryl began. Millie noticed Veronica whisper something to Penelope and she could easily see it was in her defense. Something must be in the maple syrup, Millie thought, that made all the Riverdale girls frenemies – fighting one minute and consoling one another the next. "The last time I saw Jason, I was wearing this dress. I know it's impossible, but I swear when I put it on…It feels like he's in the room with me. Even though we were twins, I used to demand that I have my own birthday party. Until one year, out of the blue, Jason convinced me that we have to combine them into one. It wasn't until years later I found out why. It was because no one wanted to come to mine and Jason didn't want me to know. He protected me. Every single day. I wish that day at the River, I protected him. I'm so sorry, Jay-Jay. We failed you. All of us."

Cheryl flung herself on Jason's coffin and cried. Veronica ran to comfort Cheryl with a hug and Millie felt a twinge of jealousy. It should have been her who comforted Cheryl. She should have been whispering to Penelope and sleeping over.

When Penelope called everyone to the Winter Salon for a light supper, the investigation began. Millie quickly wiped away her tears and led Jughead, Betty, and Darry up to Jason's bedroom. She didn't even have to think. Her body was on auto-pilot, running to Jason's room. The other three began a search for evidence or letters, but Millie took the opportunity to say goodbye to Jason's bedroom.

Next to his bed was a picture of Cheryl and him. Her school picture used to be in the bottom right-hand corner, but it wasn't anymore. She opened the drawer on his nightstand where he had always kept mementos. All aspects of their relationship seemed gone until she reached in the back. A receipt for their first date at Pop's was tucked away.

Before they could really search, the door started to close. Nana Rose had been behind it. The four clumped together. Jughead whispered in Millie's ear ", the horror, the horror!"

"I'm so sorry. We were just," Millie began but stopped when she realized Nana Rose wasn't looking at her. They had met several times, but she didn't seem to recognize Millie. Instead, she was looking at Betty.

"Oh! It's you. How lovely to see you again," Nana Rose said, wheeling herself closer to Betty. "Come closer. I want to get a good look at you. Come closer, Polly dear."

Millie tried not to be offended. She told herself that Nana Rose had poor eyesight and she had just dyed her hair, but she knew there was more to it. Jason was very careful with introducing her to Nana Rose as his girlfriend, it had taken months. Apparently, it hadn't been so hard to do so with Polly.

"It's nice to see you again too," Betty answered, playing the role of Polly. She sat on Jason's bed to be at eye level with Nana Rose. Millie had the distinct urge to push her off. "I'm sorry it had to be under such terrible circumstances."

Nana Rose reached for Betty's hand – specifically her left hand. "Well, of course, you're not wearing it. God bless."

"Wearing what?"

"The ring, Polly. That ring has been in the Blossom family for generations." Millie knew all about that ring. Cheryl had told Millie that Blossom men were always to propose wearing it. They used to pretend that she would someday wear it. "You keep it close to your heart, always. But don't tell Penelope I gave it to you or she'll likely come and snip it off your finger! Such a shame. Your wedding was the last thing I was living for. I lost a grandson, but you? You've lost the love of your young life. Poor child."

With tears in her eyes, Betty excused herself and the others followed quickly. Betty practically dragged her father out of the memorial. Darry, confused, retreated into the flock of Bulldogs. Jughead pulled Millie out into the graveyard.

"Look, that was a lot to take in, but we have to remember she is old so -" Jughead was trying to make Millie feel better and she adored him for it. It had hurt to find out that Jason was engaged to Polly in a petty and jealous way, but Millie couldn't blame him for moving on when they had been apart. She could blame him for the early morning of July 1st, but she couldn't blame him for Polly.

"Juggie, it's okay," she answered. She looked around the graveyard. There was a hole where they would soon bury Jason's casket. "Jason and I weren't soulmates. I loved him but he loved Polly. Maybe he loved me too, but I'll never know that."

Jughead stared at her, as though he was waiting for the tears. For once, her eyes were dry. Millie was running out of tears. Not because she wasn't sad, she would always be sad for Jason's death, but because it wasn't her love story. She was a side character in the love story of Jason Blossom and Polly Cooper. Tomorrow it would hurt again, but she was okay at that very moment. "So, what do we do now?"

"Jughead Jones, how are you at mini golf?"

* * *

Izzy left the memorial with Reggie. She was worried about her sister, who disappeared after Cheryl's speech, and her brother who seemed unusually anxious; but she was happy to be sitting in Reggie's car. Reggie was tense and Izzy just wanted to be there for him. His friend had died and he was stressed about the football team.

"God, what was Andrews doing, retiring the captain's jersey? He's not the captain yet." Reggie pounded a fist against the steering wheel. Izzy had found Archie's gesture touching, giving Jason's jersey to his mother, but she wasn't going to protest when Reggie was clearly so upset. She doubted it really had to do with the jersey. Since their date, Izzy realized that Reggie was smarter than everyone else thought. He just wasn't smart in the traditional sense. He wouldn't have to worry about his GPA anymore, not with Izzy around to help him. "He should have talked to the team. We should have done it together. As a team. Now it's just an episode of the Archie Andrews show. I've been varsity much longer than him."

"You'd be a much better captain than him." Izzy really did believe it. Archie Andrews was a good guy, she couldn't deny that, but Reggie cared more about football. The Bulldogs were his whole and his family. Archie had so many different things going for him.

Reggie wasn't having it. "You've barely seen me play. At games, you're focused on your cheers. You don't know who would be better."

"I know you," Izzy answered, but Reggie just laughed and not in a nice way. He pulled up in front of her house, but Izzy didn't get out of the car. He had been much nicer when he picked her up, telling her she looked nice with her hair pulled into a twist and introducing himself to her father. A memorial of a close friend was a lot and Izzy didn't need an apology. The River Vixens were more focused on their routines, all cheerleaders were, and she didn't know much about football. One of his closest friends had just died and Izzy wanted to make him feel better, even if it meant letting him lash out.

"You barely know me. We've only been on one date." Reggie ran both hands through his hair. Izzy had already picked up that this was his tell. One hand meant he was nervous, while two hands meant he was tense or angry. "So, like, we're here. You can get out of the car."

"Thanks for the ride." She opened the door and got out, stopping before she shut the door. "You'll text me?"

"Sure," he answered, turning the radio up. Izzy shut the door and watched him drive off. He wasn't going to text her.

Her dad's car was in the driveway, meaning he and her brother were home. Instead of leaving with Betty, Darry had caught a ride with their dad. Two houses down, an unfamiliar silver Chevy was parked, but she didn't think anything of it. She only noticed because of the bumper sticker on the back that said: "I break for snakes." Izzy hoped that she could slip in quietly and head up to her room to sulk in her bed with Horace and a book on endangered species of reptiles, but her plans were thwarted as soon as she walked in the door.

In the sitting room, Darry was sending her a desperate look for help. On the couch, Lionel sat with a brunette women in her early to mid-thirties. Isadora recognized her right away. She had only seen her from a distance, but her mother had made a comment about her every time. Cassandra called her a "homewrecker" and a floozy.

"Isadora," Lionel said, with an awkward but hopeful smile. "Ruthie stopped by to say hello. I thought I'd introduce you."

Ruthie stood up and offered Izzy her hand. She looked to Darry, who shrugged his shoulders. Izzy tentatively shook her hand. "It's uh…nice to meet you."

Ruthie was smiling widely as if that could make the awkwardness of the situation go away. She didn't know what to do and it seemed like Darry was also at a loss. If Millie were here, she'd be hostile and then Izzy wouldn't have to feel bad about being polite, but Millie wasn't here so Izzy was left to defend her mother's memory. "Your dad tells me that you know so much about snakes. I think that's so great. I'm actually the reptile specialist at the Riverdale Animal Hospital."

"I know a lot about a lot of things." Izzy channeled Cheryl Blossom, Millicent Miller, and Veronica Lodge – all the strongest River Vixens she knew. "I know so much because I know about hard work and endurance. I know about giving everyone to what you love. My mother taught me that."

Ruthie's smile faltered and Lionel tugged at his shirt collar. Darry didn't seem angry at Ruthie, but Izzy could be. Cassandra told them that their affair Lionel had with Ruthie ended their marriage and while she didn't miss all the tap lessons, she missed her mother. Even at her harshest, Cassandra was her mother. Izzy could forgive her father because she knew that he loved her, but she had no reason to forgive Ruthie. Without her, her mother might still be alive. "You'll have to excuse me, Ruby. I have to practice my routine for the River Vixens. My mother taught me so much about dancing that I'm already climbing to the top of the pyramid."

Izzy stormed up to her room but didn't slam the door. She didn't want Ruthie to think that she mattered to Isadora and she had called her the wrong name for that very reason. For a while, she paced. After an hour, she heard Darry go into his room. Izzy checked her phone. Her only text message was from Kevin.

_From Kevin:_

_ Saw you leave with Reggie :* ;)_

She signed and took Horace out of his cage. He slithered up her arm. It was too early for Reggie to text her, she knew that. Besides, he was probably looking over his plays. She typed out a message and then deleted it. Would Veronica be home from the memorial yet? Maybe she should ask her. Instead, she texted Kevin.

_To Kevin:_

_Was weird when he dropped me off._

It was probably nothing, but with the women who ruined her parents in her sitting room and she needed someone to tell her that something was okay.

* * *

Jughead was hilariously horrible at mini golf. No matter how hard he tried, he never made a shot in less than five swings. At hole nine there was a big hill and Jughead claimed to see Moose. When Millie looked, Jughead claimed to take his shot and got his first hole-in-one. It turned out not to be Moose the person, but a large ceramic statue of a moose.

Riverdale only had one mini-golf course and it empty when they got there. Once the weather got colder, people stopped coming until spring. There were two alternative courses and a small concession stand. After creaming Jughead the first round, she asked him to buy hotdogs. While he was at the concession stand, she paid for them to do the other course so he couldn't say no. The two teenagers who had been left in charge didn't care what they did as long as they didn't break anything.

They didn't keep score the second game, instead challenging each other to make more outrageous trick shots. Jughead had already ventured into the stream twice to fetch his ball and once when she pretended to lose hers.

"You know what's always bothered me about the mini golf," Millie asked, as Jughead pretended to concentrate. He perfectly lined up his club with the pink ball and then kicked it with his boot. It bounced off a rock and rolled into a nearby bush.

"The bushes? Or that all the plastic animals have those 'do not club' signs?" Millie placed her black golf ball down. Jughead had picked hers and she had picked his. She closed her eyes and swung dramatically. When she opened her eyes, her ball was centimeters from the hole.

"They never have erasers. It doesn't matter where you get them. What's the point of a pencil you can't erase?" Jughead laid on the ground and lined up his golf ball like a marble. He stuck his tongue out slightly as he focused. It shot out and hit Millie's ball further away from the hole. "That is so not fair."

"All's fair in war." Their eyes met and they raced towards the balls. She was faster, but Jughead picked her up by the waist and span her around, dropping her behind him. He got to her ball but before he could kick it, Millie had his in her band. "Is this a hostage situation?"

"What are you going to do about it, Jones? Are you ready to talk terms?" There was a playful glint in Jughead's eye and Millie couldn't keep herself from giggling.

"I don't negotiate with terrorist." Jughead leaped forward and tried to wrestle the ball from her. She laughed as he tickled her until finally, he grabbed her wrists and their faces were about an inch apart. He was so close and it all felt so fun. It was so wonderfully normal, aside from the remains of their funeral attire. Jughead had removed his tie and buttoned his shirt to show the tee-shirt had had underneath and Millie wore his suit coat over her black dress. His blue eyes sparkled. It would be so easy to kiss him. Over his shoulder, she thought she saw Jason, watching her. In a blink, he was gone.

Just as Millie was about to lean in, they heard a voice. "We close in, like, ten minutes."

The two jumped back at the sound. Jughead's face turned bright red and Millie imaged hers was the same. They returned all their equipment, except for the pink ball, which Millie hid in the pocket of Jughead's jacket.

"I used to go there all the time," Millie told him as he walked her home. Jughead was more of a gentleman than Millie had thought he would be. He had given her his jacket when she was cold and made her walk on the inside of the sidewalk, away from the road.

"With Jason?" Jughead tried not to let the bitterness seep through, but Millie could definitely hear it. She shook her head.

"My dad used to take us when we were kids. My mom always thought it was a waste of time so I pretended to hate it, but I loved it. Darry did too. It was the closest to a traditional sport that my mom let him get." Talking to Jughead was easy, easier than it had ever been with anyone else. "Izzy was always the best though. Once she brought a compass to calculate angles. Darry and I got so annoyed but my dad loved it. He was so proud when she made those shots. I think he wanted to start a father-daughter league."

In the back of her brain, she wondered if this was wrong. She was out with Jughead the night of Jason's memorial, but after speaking with Nana Rose, she finally felt like it was okay to let Jason go. At least, for a night.

"This was fun," she said when they arrived at her house. She hugged him, just like she would when she said goodbye to any friend. "Even though you're a terrible mini golfer. And a cheater."

"I would just say I'm a creative player," Jughead answered as she stepped back. They weren't as far apart as they were before the hug. "But I guess it was kind of fun."

"You're so kind, Jug." Before anything could happen, not that it was going to, the curtain opened and Lionel Miller peaked out. He ducked away as soon as they noticed, but it killed any chance of a mood. "I should go. Before my dad tries to be a parent again."

When she left, she found herself slightly disappointed, though she didn't know why. She really didn't have a reason to be. She and Jughead were just friends and it was too soon. Wasn't it? Though it hadn't been too soon for Jason to get engaged. It didn't matter, she told herself. Tomorrow would be the same as yesterday. There was a murder to solve. How could she focus on anything else?


	10. Chapter 9: Sage to Banish Evil Spirits

Darry sat with Betty in the Blue and Gold room. She filled him in on her talk with her dad, about the feud between her grandparents and the Blossoms, and the lies her parents had told her. Apparently, great grandpappy Blossom had murdered great grandpappy Cooper over sweet, sticky maple syrup money and Hal Cooper still carried that grudge. He held it so tightly that he sent his own daughter away for getting closer to a Blossom. Darry wanted to comfort her and tell her everything would be okay, but he didn't know if it would.

"Dar, I feel like I don't even know who my mom and dad are anymore. If they lied about Polly and Jason..."

"What else could they be lying about," Darry finished. He and Betty approached the murder board. "Your dad said he would do anything to protect Polly. How far do you think he'd go?"

"Dar, whoever stole Sherriff Keller's murder board wasn't at the drive-in. My dad wasn't at the drive-in." Darry reached for a notecard. On it he wrote "The Coopers." He offered it to Betty. As much as he needed to solve Jason's murder for his family, to prove his mother had nothing to do with it, he didn't want to force Betty into investigating her own family. Betty took the card from him and pinned it to the board. Together, they stared at it, trying to put the pieces together. Trying to think of a way their parents were innocent. Darry put his arm around Betty and leaned in. That's when Darry realized Sherriff Keller wasn't going to solve the murder, it would have to be them. They needed to do this. Together.

* * *

Millicent sat at the Cooper's breakfast table with Betty and her mother. It was part of a plan made by Darry and Betty to find where Polly Cooper was. Millie hadn't been surprised that Betty was eager to solve Jason's murder and see her sister, but Darry's enthusiasm shocked her. She guessed that Betty told him about Jason's letter, but she didn't have the courage to ask him. Part of her hated that idea that Darry was trying to protect her, but the other part loved her big brother.

What Betty really needed was to go through her mother's purse and the only way to distract Alice Cooper was to give her prey to sink her talons into. When the Riverdale Register, Riverdale's Cooper run newspaper, posted Jason's autopsy, Millie had been livid. No one really knew what happened between Jason and Polly, but the Blossoms and Coopers hated each other and no one could seem to figure out why.

"I was surprised when Betty said she invited you for breakfast," Alice began. Millie braced herself. Years of competitive dancing had made her familiar with catty comments and bad attitudes, but she needed to keep her cool to keep Alice distracted. "I just never assumed Cheryl Blossom would give you permission. Aren't you B-F-F?"

"Mom," Betty interjected, shaking her head. "Can we not bring the Blossoms into this?"

"Well, it's safe to assume that this little 'friendship' is why you're digging into Jason's death, isn't it? I assume the cops are poking through your alibi." Though her parents never really talked about their high school days, Millie knew that Alice Cooper was in her father's class. Her mother always grimaced when someone mentioned her. Her father described her as overprotective, which really meant overbearing. "What were you doing again?"

"My siblings and I were in a publicized dance competition that entire week. It was on public access. There's footage and witnesses." Millie had tweeted footage with time stamps after getting so many looks in the halls. She would never hurt Jason, but no one seemed to focus on that. Everyone needed video footage.

"They're not friends anymore, Mom," Betty said.

"Well, I supposed that's a good call. No good can come from a Blossom." Alice sipped her tea knowingly and watched Millie closely. She felt like she was being interviewed. She could read the headline now: "Millie Miller: Dumb Name for a Dumb Girl."

"Could I use your bathroom?" Betty started to get up to show her, but Alice interrupted and said ", I'll take you, Millie dear. I'll grab you some sage to help banish evil spirits. I used it last time a Blossom set foot in this house."

Millie reluctantly followed her. Betty deserved an Academy Award. No one would have thought that this uncomfortable breakfast was part of a master plan to get to her mother's checkbook.

Later in the Blue and Gold room with Jughead, they looked up The Sisters of Quiet Mercy. It turned out to be a home for "troubled youth" run by nuns. Really, it seemed like the set of a horror film.

"We can go after school," Betty told them, as they stared at the website. "Darry already said that he's come with us. There's only one more thing…"

Jughead and Betty turned to Millie and looked at her with sad eyes. It was the same look everyone gave her when someone mentioned Jason or when her ballet instructor made her take time off to rest her ankle. Pity.

"Polly's never going to open up to Jason's ex-girlfriend," Jughead said gently. They never talked about mini golf or how close they had gotten to kissing. Millie was starting to suspect it was all in her head. Had they really been about to kiss? Or had Jughead been about to flinch? "Besides, do you really want to be there? I mean, it's got to be hard on you."

"I'm the only reason you even got into her checkbook! You're seriously going to sideline me?" The two looked at each other. Millie wondered if this was their plan all along. Was she just a ticket to getting under Alice Cooper's skin? Maybe she was only involved because they pitied her. Either way, her uselessness was up and she was up. "Whatever. Do your little investigation. I'm sure you'll call me next time you need a favor."

"Millie, we aren't trying to -" But Millie didn't let Betty finish before storming out. Nancy Drew's sweet act was getting old. She wanted to leave the school and ditch class (she wouldn't need them when she was a professional dancer, but she knew they would call her dad. She was one step away from having to have a real conversation with him and that was a worse punishment than a few hours at Riverdale High.

So, Millie stayed at school. She avoided Jughead and Betty, there wasn't a way to hang out with the River Vixens without seeing Cheryl, and Reggie was off limits since he had to be the reason for Izzy's foul mood. Millie was alone. Again.

"Why is it that students just think they can change their acts last minute? Like there's no planning involved," Kevin complained to Izzy. He had asked her to help him run lights and sound for the 75th Variety Show, which really meant he needed a stage manager. He pitched it to her as a distraction from the antics of Reggie Mantle, but it wasn't antics that were the problem. It was the lack of antics…or anything.

Izzy had caved and texted Reggie the day after she met Ruthie, but he never responded. When she heard that he became captain, she messaged him again to congratulate him. He sent her a thumbs up emoji. Izzy had no idea what to do with that. Kevin had assured her that she did nothing wrong, but Izzy couldn't be sure. It would be easy to say he had been using her, but for what? A few kisses? Desperation to give her a ride? It didn't add up. And Izzy was excellent at math.

Then at auditions, he had heckled everyone who tried out, including Archie Andrews. Archie was a fellow football player and Kevin had told her that he gave the captain spot to Reggie. Did he think Izzy cared about that? Was he embarrassed?

"Some of the Adventure Scouts are performing some sort of nature salute that Weatherbee insisted I put in the show and Dilton Doiley wants to make sure that they don't dishonor the Scouts, but of course he hasn't seen it and wants to micromanage the entire show because of it," Kevin continued. Dilton had a reputation for micromanaging. Technically, he had a reputation for turning the Adventure Scouts into a dictatorship. "I'd love to tell Dilton to back off, but he'd never listen to me. He does have one weakness though."

"You're going to fight him?" Dilton was definitely smaller than Kevin and there wasn't a doubt that Kevin would win, but Izzy couldn't imagine him picking a fight.

"Sometimes I forget that your mom kept you locked away in a leotard. No, his weakness has to be girls. Have you ever seen him talk to one? Look, I don't like to stereotype for obvious reasons, but girls don't want to talk about bugs and dirt."

"I like nature," Izzy answered, but Kevin rolled his eyes. Even though she was only a year younger than Veronica and him, she sometimes felt like a child. They had significantly more life experience than her. "And I'm not confident like Cheryl or gorgeous like Veronica. Why would Doiley be intimidated by me?"

When Kevin looked at her like she was stupid, she wanted to tell him that she had an incredibly high GPA. According to some IQ tests (she had taken many), she was even a genius. Of course, Izzy felt IQ tests weren't the best measurement for intelligence in all fields and that standardized testing seemed like an unfair guideline for judging a person's capabilities; but she knew that she wasn't stupid. Sometimes though, the world treated her as if she was dumb. "You're a gorgeous genius with a fit dancer body. It's time for you to own it…and you can practice by getting Doiley off my back."

Kevin pushed Izzy in Dilton's direction and he noticed her almost immediately. Izzy had to admit that she didn't notice him much. Darry had never been an adventure scout and they weren't in the same grade until this year. She knew they had AP biology together and what she heard about him growing up, but she realized that she didn't know anything about him now.

"Are you Keller's representative?" He wasn't exactly mean, just matter-of-fact. Izzy noticed a leather notebook sticking out of the pocket of his bookbag. Dilton had an over the shoulder bag, unlike most of the boys in the school. He wore it with the strap fitted perfectly to his chest, which Izzy respected. She carried the traditional two-strap backpack, but she did a lot of research before selecting it because she wanted to prevent neck and shoulder pain. Clearly, Dilton had done the same. "I'm merely here to make sure The Adventure Scouts are properly represented. This wasn't a sanctioned act. I told Weatherbee that it was tedious and that the scouts weren't interested but since Weatherbee has no respect for proper Adventure Scout proto-call, he merely bribed weaker scouts with extra credit."

"Why does he care so much about the Scouts performing?" The second it left her lips, Izzy expected Dilton to roll his eyes and demand to speak to Kevin. Izzy had grown up in Riverdale and the Adventure Scouts marched in every parade and had fundraisers for charities, but that didn't explain why they had to perform at a school talent show. An Adventure Scout had many talents, but they weren't for entertainment.

"He's hoping the talent show will bring him, donors," Dilton explained. He didn't seem irritated or annoyed by her question at all. Maybe what she heard about him was untrue. "The Scouts have been around as long as this school and this is the seventy-fifth variety show – "

"And people love when things are divisible by five," Izzy finished. Dilton's eyes never wandered from her face and Izzy felt herself blush. She reached for his notebook and flipped to a blank page. She pulled a black ink pen from her pocket, pushing on the top button to begin writing. Izzy never went anywhere without a pen, even in places where she knew there would be one. She had a very particular preference. "I'm doing their sound and light check. E-mail me your concerns and the particulars to watch out for. I'll write you back as detailed of a report as I can."

Dilton was still watching her embarrassingly closely. She started to worry that she had written in the wrong notebook, a journal or something with a very particular purpose, but he didn't look angry. Izzy noticed Reggie watching them from across the room. Ever observant, Dilton followed her gaze. "Are you dating Reggie Mantle?"

"No,," she answered quickly. Admittedly, Reggie didn't look very happy with them, but he hadn't been happy with her before and Dilton Doiley was the type of person he would pick on. The only reason he was there was that Kevin was friends with Moose and recruited some of the Bulldogs to help set the stage. "We went on one date but…he didn't really like me. Which is fine. He couldn't tell a thread snake from an earthworm."

Dilton laughed and Izzy remembered that she was talking to an Adventure Scout with a vast knowledge of the outdoors. Usually, when she mentioned snakes, Veronica would smile politely in an uninterested way or Midge would talk about her phobia of all things that crawl without legs. Izzy handed him back his notebook and he tucked it away safely. "I won't give Mantle another thought. He's a corn snake and you're an antiguan racer…and thanks. I'll be in touch."

A corn snake was the most common breed for a household pet. They were considered a beginner friendly snake, while an antiguan racer was the rarest breed of snake in the world. Isadora didn't doubt that she would hear from Dilton Doiley. She just didn't know what to make of him.

* * *

When Darius knocked on Millie's bedroom door, he knew that he was in for a rough afternoon. He had gone with Betty and Jughead to visit Polly at The Sisters of Quiet Mercy and while he was glad he was there for Betty, he was terrified of what they learned.

Despite Jughead's advice to "not judge a home for troubled youth by its façade", the outside was an accurate representation of what was within. The building looked like a distorted gothic insane asylum and that's exactly how the Sisters treated it. Only Betty had been allowed to actually see Polly, so Jughead had waited in the hallway until the unfortunate arrival of Mrs. Cooper.

"Hey," Darry said, as he pushed opened Millie's door. Millie was stretching on a yoga mat on her bedroom floor. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Did Betty and Jughead ditch you too? They're probably dating now." Millie sounded bitter, but she sat on her bed and Darry joined her. He hadn't done that in a long time. Not since she told him that Jason Blossom was her boyfriend and Darry told her to be careful with boys like Jason. He promised he beat up Jason is she asked, but Millie had just laughed in his face. "Why are you acting weird, Dar?"

"Jughead wanted to tell you, but I told him that it should come from me." Darry hadn't been close to his sister for a long time. Millie always talked about how Cheryl and Jason were best friends, so close that their parents had placed them in separate grades so they could "thrive" on their own. It hadn't mattered and they were as thick as thieves. No matter how many stories Millie told of their unbreakable bond, it hadn't made her try and forge one with Darry. He knew that Jason would put his arm around Cheryl and comfort her if the roles were reversed, but it would feel awkward and forced if he tried it with Millie. Why hadn't he let Jughead do this? "Before I tell you, you have to promise not to tell Cheryl. It's really important that this is kept a secret. We need to keep Polly safe."

"Seriously? I don't even talk to Cheryl anymore. What is going on?" He really and truly wished he had done a better job protecting her. Maybe he should have scared Jason away or plotted with their mother to tear the two apart. Cassandra always pretended to like Jason, but never actually did. Maybe if they had combined forces… "Will you just tell me already?"

"Polly pregnant, Millie. It's Jason's baby." Darry braced himself. He expected her to scream or throw something – maybe even hit him. Instead, she sat perfectly still. "Betty's really worried about Polly. She and Jason were planning to run away together to some farm. She didn't even know Jason was dead. Betty told her today."

It had been a giant mess that ended with Polly being dragged away screaming and Betty in tears. When Alice took Betty home, she told Darry and Jughead that she was grounded and wouldn't see them for a while. He wanted to comfort Betty and he wanted to comfort his sister.

"I'm going to the studio," Millie announced. She reached for her dance bag and pulled her ballet slippers from her closet. "I won't tell anymore. Tell Betty that I'm here if she needs anything. Thanks for telling me."

She was gone before Darry could say anything else. He had expected tears or violence, but he never thought Millie would act like it was a business transaction. Somewhere in the past (around the beginning of the Blossom saga), Darry lost his connection to his sister. Their mother became more of a manager and instead of siblings, Darry and his sisters were business acquaintances. Darry had never stood up to his mother or his bullies. Now seemed like a pretty good time to start. All he needed was a ladder.

Archie Andrews had been rehearsing in his garage with Valerie when Darry stopped by. When Darry said it was for Betty, Archie lent him Fred's ladder without question. He tried not to be annoyed at how easily he dropped everything for Betty. It was what friends did, he told himself, but he still resented it. Darry climbed up to her bedroom window.

"Dar? What are you doing here?" Betty helped pull him into her bedroom through her window. "Is Millie okay? Is she going to tell Cheryl?"

"No," Darry answered. He sat with Betty on her bed and tucked a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. She had taken down her signature ponytail and he wasn't sure if he missed it or loved when she let her hair down. "I came here for you. Are you okay?"

She nodded but then crumpled. "No, I'm not. Polly's been locked up in that place for months and I'm just now trying to get her out? What kind of sister am I? I'm just as bad as my Mom. I let her be sent away and…my parents say she's sick and she did seem erratic, but she's my sister and I believe her story. God, I just need some sort of proof."

"Then you'll find it, Betty. I'll help you." Darry laced his fingers through Betty's and she squeezed his hand. "You're not like your parents. You're… You're just – "

Then he kissed her for the very first time. When she pulled away, she was hit with a lightning bolt. "We have to find the car."


	11. Chpt10: No Fury Like A Blossom Scorned

"What happened to your hand?" Jughead showed up at Millie's door that morning to walk her to school with a cup of her favorite herbal tea. She took it as a peace offering. "Did you have a bad hair day and punch a mirror?"

"I don't have bad hair days," she answered, flipping her hair. Millie's left hand was covered in a white bandage. It looked worse than it felt. "I tried to pet a cat. Turns out, I'm not an animal person."

"Listen, did Darry talk to you?" Jughead was once again walking on glass around her. Millie hadn't been thrilled to find out that Polly Cooper was carrying Jason's baby, but it only cemented what she already learned at Jason's memorial. Jason didn't love her as she loved him. He wanted to be with Polly and Millie had to accept that. "I wanted to tell you myself but Darry pulled the big brother card."

"Relax, you don't need to buy me tea and give me a tissue," Millie answered, though she was already halfway through the drink. "What happened to Jason is tragic and it's hard because we were once really close, but I have to let him go. I wish Polly the best. There's nothing more I can do for Jason."

Millie slipped her hand into Jughead's. He seemed surprised but didn't let go. She continued, " I'm okay, Juggie. I promise."

She knew Jughead didn't quite believe her, but he didn't question it. "So I was thinking…about mini golf."

"Don't quit writing, Salinger. You aren't making a career out of it." Darry shook her awake that morning to tell her that last night he and Betty found Jason and Polly's getaway car…but whoever killed Jason set the car on fire. He asked her to join a search party after school to help find Polly, who had escaped from the Sister's a Quiet Mercy, but she refused. She told him that she needed to take a brief step back from the Jason Blossom's murder investigation. Millie knew exactly who she wanted to do it with. "I was thinking maybe we could try bowling next…or maybe a paint night. I know we're not twenty-one, but Reggie can get as fake IDs."

"I don't think I want to ask Reggie Mantle for any favors, but I could take you up on bowling." Before either of them could decide if they wanted to enter school holding hands, both of their phones went off. Kevin was calling Millie and Betty was calling Jughead. She had eleven text messages. All about Cheryl Blossom.

Millie dropped Jughead's hand and ran into the school. Cheryl had sent out a tweet demanding a witch hunt for Polly Cooper, who she was certain killed her brother. She raced through the halls, weaving through the students. Millie didn't care that her sister was talking to Dilton Doiley or Darry was trapped in a conversation with Ethel Muggs. What she cared about was Cheryl Blossom.

"Mimi," Cheryl begin when Millie approached. She was with Josie and the Pussycats, who felt the need to wear their cat ears to school. "Mommy gave me back the River Vixens. We need to work on a new routine. How's your ankle? Because we need to go bigger tha- "

Millie cut her off by grabbing her arm and yanking her into an empty classroom. While Josie had looked annoyed, Cheryl acted as though it was perfectly normal. "Listen, we can fix your hair, Mimi. If that's what it's about. "

"Cheryl! You tweeted that Polly killed Jason and that's what you think I'm upset about?" Millie had seen Cheryl care about her friends and family – she had even been one of those people, but she had also seen Cheryl be cruel.

"Think about it. Jason dumped Polly. If Polly broke out of whatever looney bin she was in now, she could have done it before. She has the means. Obviously, Jason loved you and not her. That's a motive." Darry had made Millie promise not to tell Cheryl, but Millie really wished she could. It didn't matter because not knowing didn't excuse calling for pitchforks. "Why are you so upset about this? Don't you want Jason's killer brought to justice?"

"Jason loved Polly, Cheryl. Not me. You read the letter, didn't you? He chose her! I have to let him go." Millie felt tears spring to her eyes over a Blossom yet again. "It's killing me, okay? But Jason loved Polly. I'm accepting that and you need to too."

Millie wanted to believe that Cheryl understood, but her face turned to ice. Her painted lips sneered. "Some of us, dear Mimi, can't just let Jason go. We can't all replace him with some dumb hobo we found at a booth in Pop's. Polly Cooper _killed_ Jason and I'm going to make sure she burns for it."

Cheryl slammed into Millie's shoulder as she stormed out. As she rubbed her shoulder, she thought about how she could let go of Jason Blossom, but Cheryl? Cheryl wasn't letting anything go without a fight.

* * *

Veronica knew that Izzy would join Betty's search party. She was the kind of person who would do anything she could for someone in need…and Betty and Darry were officially a _something_, so Izzy said yes as soon as Veronica asked. She was surprised when Izzy brought Dilton Doiley along, but Kevin told her that the two had been hanging out a lot since the talent show. Izzy promised that his nature tracking skills would be of assistance, but Veronica thought Dilton might be more of a distraction from her current woes. Reggie didn't say anything when the two teamed up, but his face gave everything away. Despite ghosting Izzy, he was into her. Maybe he didn't know how to fix it, but Veronica Lodge did.

"Kev, I know I said that clubbing tonight was a therapeutic way to get back at my mom," she began, watching Reggie pretending not to stare at Izzy. "But I think we might need to do a little matchmaking."

"Oh my God, yes. Always. Who?" Veronica was surprised he even asked, but Kevin rolled his eyes. "Well, as much as I love Reggie's muscles, he did pull a disappearing act and while Doiley is as annoying as they come…"

"First off, ew." Veronica watched Izzy and Dilton. He was showing her something on a tree, moss or markings. While Izzy didn't appear grossed out, but she also noticed Izzy take a sly peak in Reggie's direction. "Second, Izzy likes Reggie. Third, Rizzy is a way better couple name than Dizzy."

"Name wise, totally better, but…I don't know. I heard them talking about snakes earlier and I was totally bored out of my mind, but Izzy was having the time of her life. Dilton would probably worship her in a nerdy never-had-a-girlfriend sort of way. Less ego than Reggie too." Veronica rolled her eyes. Kevin clearly didn't know how girls worked, not that he really needed to. He could argue all he wanted, but Veronica was already picking out Izzy's outfit in her mind.

"Um, Dilton Doiley might know about trees and snakes, but Reggie's clearly into Izzy. Look at him." Veronica and Kevin watched Reggie closely. As Reggie walked by Dilton and Izzy, he stopped to fake a yawn and spread his arms over his head, flexing his muscles. When he walked away, he peeked over his shoulder to see if Izzy was looking, but she was distracted by something Dilton said. "See? He is _dying_ for another chance with Izzy. We just have to give it to him."

* * *

Millie was working at Pop's when Cheryl came in, tear-stained and angry. She had just been wishing Jughead was there, but now she was glad he wasn't. The last thing he needed was Cheryl Blossom taking her rage out on him.

"You knew," Cheryl shouted. There were only a few people at Pop's, but Millie wished it was empty. "That's why you said it wasn't Polly, wasn't it? Because your new boyfriend and his Scooby Doo mystery partner told you."

"Cher –" Millie trailed off. Cheryl whacked the coffee pot out of her hand, sending decaf all over an empty table. "I just found out last night."

"I don't care if you found out two seconds before Alice Cooper's manipulative press conference. The first thing you should have done was to call me. You're mad at me for keeping my _brothers_ secret, but you get to keep his crazy ex-girlfriend's secret?" Millie hadn't seen Alice Cooper's press conference, but she was sure it was a tactical move against the Blossoms. She didn't know why the two families hated each other, no one did, but she knew she hadn't meant to be a part of it. Millie wished she could have told Cheryl. It was an awful way to find out. "You don't want to be my friend anymore? Fine. I'm done making excuses for your selfish behavior."

"My selfish behavior?" Any hope Cheryl had of an apology was gone. Since being Cheryl Blossom's friend, she had spent years apologizing for her snarky comments and impulsive actions. Cheryl hadn't told her Jason's plan and _that _was why they weren't friends. If they had been, Millie would have broken her promise and called her. "You're a mess, Cheryl. Everything you do is just some play for attention. I'm sorry that's how you found out, but really? I didn't call you because I don't call you anymore. We aren't friends because of you."

"You're off the River Vixens and you're dead at Riverdale High. You know why? Because if you're not my friend, you're my enemy. This is war, Millicent Miller and I _always_ win." On her way out, Cheryl knocked someone's meal onto the floor. She looked back at Millie and smirked. "Be a dear and pick that up."

Millie was fuming. She wanted to scream and run after Cheryl but she was working. So she did pick up the mess Cheryl has made, but she swore to herself it would be the last time.

After work, Millie walked home in a rage. There were two cars in the driveway. Her father's car and one with a bumper sticker that said: "I brake for snakes." She had been able to avoid meeting Ruthie the last time she was over, but she doubted she could avoid it this time.

The second she entered the house, Lionel called her into the sitting room. Ruthie and Lionel were sitting in armchairs next to each other while Darry and Izzy sat on the couch as far away from Ruthie as possible.

"Millicent! This is Ruthie, she's already met your brother and sister," Lionel began, smiling like there wasn't a single reason for tension. Out of loyalty for her mother, Millie was angry with Ruthie and her fury at Cheryl only made that anger worse. Darry looked incredibly uncomfortable and fidgety, but Izzy looked relieved to see her. Millie pushed herself between Izzy and Darry, forcing Darry closer. He had been suspiciously quiet about Ruthie's appearance in their life and at moments like this, it felt like a betrayal.

"It's so great to finally meet you," Ruthie began, offering her hand to shake. Millie grimaced until Ruthie slowly put her hand down. "Your father says wonderful things about all of you."

"Really," Millie asked, faking Ruthie's level of enthusiasm ", because he barely talks to me. I'm so glad he has time to spend with you though. That's neat."

Izzy laughed in a snotty way that she could have only learned through being a River Vixen. Ruthie seemed more upset by Izzy's laugh than Millie's comment, so Miller linked her arm through Izzy's.

"Millie, I'm so sorry you feel that way," Lionel answered. She felt a little bad for hurting her father. She still loved him despite the affair ", but you're right. I think we should establish family dinners and spend more time together. Especially since my work schedule is going to get crazier."

"What do you mean crazier," Izzy asked, forgetting to be mean. Millie elbowed her. "I mean, any excuse to spend more time with _her_ right."

"The insurance company is still investigating what happened with your mother's studio. Until the insurance money comes in, I'm going to have to do longer hours and overnight flights." The kids looked at one another. Darry looked vaguely sick, which made Izzy look even more nervous. Millie just rolled her eyes.

"Was there a problem with the paperwork? Usually, a claim is processed within ninety days." Izzy had an answer for everything and could never keep it to herself.

"No problem," Lionel answered quickly - too quickly for Millie's liking. "Until my schedule calms down, Fred Andrews has offered to be available if you need anything. His house is right down the street and you're welcomed over with dinner any night. His home and cell phone numbers are on the refrigerator. And Ruthie has offered to stay over if it would make you more comfortable. She left her phone number on the fridge as well."

"She protects homes? I thought she only wrecked them." When Izzy didn't laugh, she looked at her father's face. Given the circumstances, Millie had been able to get away with a lot, but now Lionel just looked angry.

"Apologize. Right now." Her father stepping into his parental role felt laughable, but Izzy unlinked their arms. Traitor, Millie thought. "I mean it, Millicent. I will pull your ballet funding."

"It's alright," Ruthie interrupted, but Lionel shook his head. Millie really wanted him to take a cue from his new girlfriend. "She doesn't know."

"It doesn't matter. She needs to treat people with respect. She's right. I haven't been much of a father recently. This is how I start. Millicent, apologize to Ruthie." She felt tears spring to her eyes, but she wasn't about to let them fall in front of Ruthie or her father.

"Fine. I'm sorry, Ruthie." She must have sounded pretty genuine because both Lionel and Ruthie looked very surprised. "It's not your fault. I mean, you could have stopped it, but you didn't break up our family. He did. It's his fault. It's just easier to blame you because you didn't have an obligation not to. You're basically a stranger, but my dad? He's the monster. He drove us away and look what happened. He's the reason Mom is dead. So sorry, Ruthie. I hate you and you can't change that because it's not your fault. It's his fault. It's all his fault."

Millie stormed out and her siblings slinked out behind her. Darry went straight to his room, but before Millie could hide in her own room, Izzy grabbed her. Izzy hugged Millie as tightly as she could and Millie couldn't help but hug her back.


	12. Chapter 11: Smother It or Let It Burn

When Izzy met up with Veronica, Josie, and Kevin; she was already in a foul mood. She swore to them that she was fine and admittedly, their makeover helped. Not because she thought she needed makeup (though she did really like it and Josie even let her some leopard print shoes), but because she was surrounded by her friends. She always thought fun was the best home remedy (Penicillin was arguably the best medicine).

On their way to the club, Izzy's first ever, Veronica announced that they had to make a quick stop. Izzy didn't think anything of it until Kevin leaned into Veronica and whispered: "This is a bad idea."

Izzy and Josie were squished together in the backseat to make room for another person. She had assumed it would be Betty or maybe even Cheryl, but Reggie Mantle slid into the backseat next to her. When Izzy looked to Josie, she shrugged. While Josie was innocent, eye contact in the rearview mirror confirmed that Kevin had known all along.

"Ladies, Keller, let's do this," Reggie said instead of a typical hello. If Izzy hadn't already been in a hellish mood, she might have smiled politely and been willing to forgive. After the disastrous encounter where Millie blamed their father for their mother's death, Izzy didn't feel like forgiving anyone. She pulled out her phone to text an "SOS" to Kevin, but Reggie peeked over her shoulder. "You texting your new boyfriend?"

"What boyfriend," Josie asked. Kevin covered his face with his hand and Izzy put her phone way.

"Diton Doiley," Reggie answered.

"Ew." Josie scrunched up her nose and Izzy elbowed Reggie as hard as she could.

"He's not my boyfriend, Mantle and it isn't any of your business if I have one. In fact, I'm on the prowl tonight. I want someone good-looking and smart. You can't find that at Riverdale High." Izzy pulled out a compact from her purse and refreshed her lip gloss just like Veronica taught her.

Ignoring Reggie required a lot of effort, but she managed it for most of the night. She danced with her friends, but occasionally she danced with a strange guy from the bar. Twice she even wrote down a fake phone number. If she wasn't so angry, she would have been terrified. Once Veronica asked her if she needed to talk, but she declined. Tonight was about Veronica. Dilton texted her once and she sent him a group shot that she made Reggie take. Halfway through the night, when she desperately needed a drink, she excused herself from her friends to take a break at the table. She found a message from her sister and Dilton:

**From Millie:**

Dad's going out of town tomorrow. Darry told me. Didn't make me come down for dinner.

**From Dilton:**

Aren't you too young to be at a club?

She sent her sister what she hoped was a reassuring message and ignored Dilton. The whole reason for bringing Reggie was that he provided fake IDs. At least, she hoped that was it. The glint in Veronica's eyes said otherwise. Reggie slid into the booth next to her and offered her a drink.

"It's a peace offering," Reggie said, Izzy examined the clear bubbly liquid in the cup. "It's Sprite."

Izzy took a tentative sip and went back to her phone. She wasn't in the mood for Reggie but his name appeared on her phone.

**From Reggie:**

I'm sorry I was a jerk

It wasn't a verbal apology, but he was grinning at her and she had to admit that she loved that grin.

**From Reggie:**

Trying to make me jealous? It worked.

**From Reggie:**

:*

"You can't just text me and have everything be magically better," Izzy answered, trying to sound as snippy as possible. The truth was, he could. She hated it but she really wanted to forgive him. "I get that you don't want to be my boyfriend but you could have been my friend."

"It's not that! I like you. I guess…I don't know. I got insecure and I was embarrassed. Mantle the Magnificent was the second choice for captain. Don't tell anyone." Even though she wanted to put him through the wringer, she smiled. "I was a jerk but you didn't have to give your number to those guys."

"It was fake," Izzy admitted and laughed.

"You've got to be kidding me," Reggie groaned and proceeded to tickle her. She laughed and begged him to stop, even though she loved it. After a moment, he did but only to kiss her.

They were broken up by the arrival of the others and when Reggie pulled away, he slung his arm around her shoulder. Veronica gave her knowing eyes while Josie whispered something to Kevin. Veronica's setup had worked flawlessly. Izzy swore to herself that she would never doubt Veronica Lodge again.

* * *

Jughead Jones was typing away on his laptop in the Blue and Gold room when Betty Cooper walked in. She was late for their meeting, which was unusual, but Jughead assumed that she was off with Darry. Veronica had blatantly called them a couple and they hadn't denied it, which confirmed their status in Bulldog terms. Since Jughead didn't follow his schools imposed social norms, he wasn't going to say anything until Betty did.

Betty was carrying a cardboard coffee tray with two cups, the absence of the third implied that she had already seen Darry and chosen not to bring him with her. That meant Nancy Drew had found something that she didn't want to bring up in front of him. She slid a cup towards him.

"Ah, free coffee. Do you need a favor or is it bad news?" Jughead shut his laptop. Betty had an odd look on her face. She wasn't sure if she was bringing bad news or not.

"Jug, do you remember how Millie didn't come to search for Polly?" Betty seemed hesitant and Jughead wondered if she wanted to put Millie on the suspect board. She had an undeniable public access alibi though, so that couldn't be the case. "Polly told me that Millie broke her out. She smashed a rock through the window at The Sister's of Quiet Mercy."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would she do that?" What Jughead really wanted to know was why Millie would do that without telling him. She told Jughead that she was done with Jason Blossom…the night after Polly escaped.

"She bought Polly prenatal vitamins and gave her everything in her bank account. It's not enough to run away with but still. Did you know about this?" Apparently, the look on his face answered her question, because she continued. "Polly told her not to tell anyone. She said that I'd know where to find her. Do you think that maybe…she wanted to save Jason's reputation? Maybe she torched the car?"

Millie had a concrete unshakable alibi, Jughead told himself. There was no way that she could have killed Jason Blossom, but Jughead couldn't be sure exactly where she was the night someone torched the getaway car. Could she have been trying to protect Jason? Was all of that some last tribute to him? Maybe that's why she had asked him out. She really was letting Jason go.

"There's no way she killed Jason, but…she could have set the car on fire." He liked Millie, but he couldn't ignore what she had done. Slowly, Betty got up and wrote "Millicent Miller" on a notecard. She handed it to him and Jughead tacked it on the board.

He spent the rest of the day wrestling with avoiding Millie. During biology, he partnered with Archie and he avoided her in the halls. He even hid away at lunch so he wouldn't have to see it. She should have told him about Polly. She had to have known that he would find out.

Not that Jughead cared about what other people were thinking, but it seemed like everyone at Riverdale High was pairing off. Kevin spent most of the day whispering to Veronica about some boy he was seeing. Betty was constantly being comforted by Darry. Archie spent most of his day blabbing about Val and his music. Even Reggie Mantle, who Jughead despised, was all over Izzy Miller. In fact, they were the most disgusting of all. Reggie had gotten more than one warning from Weatherbee about PDA in the hallway.

Millie texted Jughead a few times, but he didn't answer. What was he supposed to say? He felt like an idiot, believing that she hurt her hand trying to pet a cat. Some crazy stuff was happening in Riverdale, but rabid cats were not on the list. Avoiding her was harder than he thought. Archie warned him after school that she was waiting by his locker, so he didn't go. Not that he mattered, he was sleeping under the stairs.

The next day, Cheryl Blossom found him at his locker, which was almost worse than death. Her red lips grinned like the Cheshire cat, but Cheryl was much more deadly. He tried to ignore her as he opened his locker, but she placed her hand over it. "Hello, hobo. I came to thank you."

"Do it matter that you're not welcome?" Whatever she was here to say, Jughead knew to ignore her and let her say it. Cheryl was like a gas fire. Water wouldn't stop it. You're only options were to smother it or let it burn out.

"I've been racking my brain for a way to get back at my ex-bff, but now I don't have you. Dumping her has caused her enough pain." Jughead had to ignore her. He shouldn't say anything and he knew that. Millie wasn't his girlfriend so he couldn't dump her. Cheryl was an agent of chaos. He had to ignore her. "Watching her sit all alone at lunch yesterday? Moping like a sad ugly bitch at the pound? It's cathartic."

She let him open his locker and Jughead told himself not to engage. Let Cheryl play her games. They were all lies. She was trying to get a rise out of him. "You know, I knew she'd never do better than Jason, but it's great seeing her get rejected by dirty peasant like you."

"Enough, Cheryl. I'm not interested in whatever game you're playing. Neither is Millie." He slammed his locker and left, retreating to the Blue and Gold room. Jughead took a seat at a desk and buried his head in his hands. Betty was already at the computer, hard at work.

So far, Weatherbee was impressed with the Blue and Gold, excluding her expose of Chuck Clayton. Betty was excellent and Darry wasn't a bad photographer. Obviously, Jughead knew he was a good writer, but he was mostly here for the investigation…and the coffee maker.

Betty always had a pot of coffee ready. She was very reliable. He could see why Darry liked her. Jughead just liked her in a different way. Thinking about dating made him think about Millie. He approached the murder board. They had to be missing something. There were too many loose ends. Still, Jughead kept going back to one missing clue. Jason knew Cassandra Miller was going to die before she did.

Betty crept up next to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He knew she wanted him to talk about it, but he didn't know what to say. Nothing had happened with Millie anyway. They were just friends. He already had too many of those.

"I know you don't want to talk about it," Betty began. Jughead didn't take his eyes off the murder board. "But you should know that Darry talked to Millie. She admitted to helping Polly, but she said she didn't burn down the car."

Jughead scoffed, but really he was relieved. Betty continued ", Darry believes her and so do I. We know she didn't kill Jason. She has no reason to burn down the car. She just wanted to help Jason one last time. Jug, she likes you."

"She's not over Jason, Betty. She didn't even tell me about Polly." He hated that he cared. He shouldn't have let Millie back into his life. When she had ditched him for the Blossoms all those years ago, he had been so upset. It was stupid to let her back into her life. "Besides, she's in love with a ghost."

"Look, she's always going to be upset. Jason was murdered. But Jason moved on and she is too. Caring about Jason doesn't mean that she doesn't like you. Just talk to her." Betty was kinder than anyone Jughead ever met. He meant to take her advice.

Then Sherriff Keller showed up.

* * *

Betty tracked Millie down as soon as it happened. Sheriff Keller had brought Jughead in for questioning, but really he was holding him longer than he needed. Keller finally let Millie in to see him, while they waited for F.P. Jones. He hoped Millie could "talk some sense into him."

"I didn't do it," Jughead told her, looking terrified. "Millie, you have to believe me. I didn't do it."

Millie reached across the table and held his hands. She knew that Jughead had been avoiding her and she knew why. She didn't blame him, but she didn't regret her actions. "I never doubted that for a second. I know who you are, Jughead. You're not a killer. All this evidence is circumstantial. You're not going to jail."

"Those Paradise Lost Kids went to jail because they wore black and listened to Metallica…is my dad here?" Jughead never talked about his family, but Millie had put some pieces together. She knew his mom and sister were out of the picture because she heard Archie and Fred talking. Jughead's dad was…not very hands on. He had told her that his dad had started working with Fred Andrews again, but that was all he said. Fred's expression and the way he clammed up when asked about F.P. told her that he wasn't winning the father of the year award. Millie shook her head.

Mr. Andrews saved the day, providing Jughead with an alibi and promising to bring in paperwork. It wasn't until Jughead was released that his dad showed up, hungover and angry. Mr. Jones blamed it on his cellphone battery, but it was tense. The Andrews had invited Jughead to stay with them for a while and F.P. eventually agreed, to Jughead's disappointment. Millie never felt more grateful for Fred Andrews.

When they all went their separate ways, Millie hugged Jughead close. He hugged her back, which she hoped meant their fight was over. She brought her lips to his ear and whispered ", you still owe me that date."

She kissed his cheek before she left with Betty, who smiled at her widely. Millie owed Betty Cooper so much more honesty than she had given her. Soon she would tell her everything about July 1st. Just not yet.


	13. Chapter 12: Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Being the boyfriend of Betty Cooper involved a lot more community outreach than Darry anticipated. He had spent the morning in the student lounge with Betty, Veronica, Kevin, Archie, Jughead, Millie, Izzy, and Cheryl planning a baby shower for Polly Cooper. Millie and Cheryl rolled their eyes every time the other spoke, but the worst was Millie and Jughead. Millie sat on the arm of his chair, dangerously close to him. Sure, Darry has his arm was around Betty at all times, but Millie looked ready to fall into Jughead's _lap_ at any second.

"Of course, you're Betty's boyfriend," Veronica has answered when he asked if he was expected to attend. Veronica had made the put a label on their relationship as soon as Betty told her about the kiss, not that he minded. Archie Andrews might have been dumb enough to overlook Betty but he was the only one who would. The only thing worse than watching Millie fling herself Jughead was when Izzy excused herself to go meet Reggie.

Reggie was every older brother's worst nightmare. His hand had been in the back pocket of every pair of jeans Millie owned and he had no problem kissing her in the hallway. Now that they were officially together, Reggie forced everyone to know it. He was a dog marking his territory, especially in front of Dilton Doiley. It was not only tacky… it left Darry nauseous.

Besides being the only guy at a baby shower, being Betty Cooper's boyfriend meant being friend with Archie. Other than Betty's old crush on him, Darry couldn't find any faults with Archie. He was an overall good guy. So when Archie asked, Darry joined the crew to help Fred Andrews.

Physical labor was the kind of work that Darry liked. Photography was a fun hobby, but he really liked working with his hands. He didn't mind moving bricks or pouring concrete. When he was little, his favorite toy was his giant yellow dump truck. Lionel had been friends with Fred since high school and Fred had let him sit in one of his trucks. It was Darry's favorite childhood memory, though he tried to forget that he was in a leotard to go straight to dance class after.

Darry nearly died when Kevin asked where Reggie was and Moose answered ", he's helping Izzy stuff."

"Favors. For the baby shower," Moose finished as the guys cracked up. "Dude, you should have seen your face."

Moose was lucky Darry was carrying bricks or he might have hit him. Then again, Moose was a well-deserved nickname. Darry was the lucky one.

After a day's work, they headed up to Fred's office to wash up and grab a soda. Darry was thinking of asking Fred if he could have a summer job or maybe a few weekend hours when football season was over. His dad was always encouraging him to get a summer job and this was way better than bagging groceries.

As the boys were talking, they started to hear something. Moose had gone to get his phone from the truck. It sounded like metal hitting metal. Then they heard a girl scream. Darry locked eyes with Jughead. They both knew that sound.

The group raced out as fast as they could. Moose was curled up on the ground, pretty beaten up. Millie was on the ground as well, surrounded by donuts. Her right knee was not where it should be and it was swelling rapidly. They scared off the two men with the crowbars.

"I'm okay," Moose said, struggling to get up. Darry and Jughead were beside Millie. "But they said they'd keep coming back until you halted construction."

Fred already had his cell phone out, talking to Sherriff Keller. He mouthed something to Archie.

"I heard a pop," Millie told Jughead. Jughead was staring at her, mouth wide open. He was frozen, unaccustomed to Millie's impracticality in the name of dance. She looked at Darry. "It's dislocated. Just pop it back in! I have auditions for the NYU summer intensive in two weeks. Put it back."

"My dad says we have to take her to the hospital. Bring her to the truck," Archie answered, but Millie slapped their hands away.

"I don't need to go to the hospital. Just pop it back in. Dar, please!" Knee surgery could ruin a dancer's career. Darry looked closely at the knee. It was red and swelling quickly. The knee cap looked almost like it was in pieces. "I can't. Please just put it back in."

She was near tears, but not from pain. Knee injuries were terrifying to dancers because they could be career-ending, but there were also dancers who bounced back. Darry grabbed her hand. "Millie, we're going to the hospital. If we relocate it wrong, then it's all over. We're going to get you through it. Jughead and I will lift you."

Together, they got Millie into the truck for Fred to drive them to the hospital. Darry had to admit that Jughead was really supportive, not leaving her other side, but Millie clung to Darry's hand the whole ride. He was her big brother. This was his job.

* * *

Jughead had never felt more useless. He was sitting in the hospital waiting room with Darry and Archie. Fred Andrews was talking to Sherriff Keller. Millie's father was talking to the doctor. She would be okay but in surgery.

Millie had been bringing the boys donuts when she saw Moose getting pummeled two men with a crowbar. She had yelled at the men to stop, but one of the men pushed her out of the way, causing her to hit her knee on a piece of the construction equipment they were destroying. When they found Millie, Jughead had no idea what to do. Darry had taken over. He couldn't stop thinking about the ants crawling all over the donuts.

Izzy came running into the waiting room with Reggie Mantle in tow. Jughead saw Darry grimace and he was glad he wasn't the only one with negative feelings towards Reggie. Izzy had always been a little naïve and impressionable, but Jughead would have thought someone so smart could see through Reggie Mantle.

"Exactly what surgery is she having? Is the knee cap completely shattered or is a partial break? Did it damage any tissue surrounding the kneecap?" Izzy was incredibly smart. She understood math and science better than anyone at Riverdale High. Jughead found it strange that her latest accessory was a dumb jock. Darius and Isadora Millers had never been very popular. Their mom kept them on a tight leash and that left them with little time for afterschool activities and friendship. Millie had only succeeded because Jason and Cheryl had claimed her as their own. "Do any of you know anything?"

"Iz," Darry began, but Izzy ran off to join her father and the doctor. Darry followed her. Jughead and Archie were left with Reggie, who dutifully took a seat. He stared at Jughead like a dumb puppy.

"What, Reggie?" Jughead wasn't in the mood. He had a hard enough time putting up with Reggie at school. "You going to beat me up in front of your girlfriend's dad? In a hospital?"

Reggie scoffed and looked smugger than ever. Jughead missed being invisible. Reggie leaned forward and Jughead saw Archie tense up. "Jonesy, I think Mr. Miller's going to be more upset at the boy Millie was bringing donuts too, don't you?"

"Reggie, don't," Archie said. Reggie leaned back in his chair and shrugged. Jughead looked to Mr. Miller, Darry, and Izzy. Mr. Miller looked concerned, but Izzy seemed to be the one really talking to the doctor. What did she see in Reggie?

"I'm just calling it as it is. Look, Jones. We're going to have to get along…for our girls, you know?" Reggie held out his hand to shake. Before Jughead could do or say anything, a woman rushed in – a very familiar woman. He couldn't quite place her but he knew that it wasn't for school because she had to be in her early thirties. Lionel ushered her over and Izzy looked less than pleased. "Shit. That must be her."

"Who?" Jughead had no idea who Reggie was talking about and it angered him. He wasn't used to Reggie knowing something he didn't.

"Dude, talk to your girl." Reggie always had a superior attitude but this annoyed Jughead much more than the times he bragged about football. "That's the women their dad is dating. Same one who her dad cheated on her mom with. She's a vet or something."

Jughead still couldn't place her. He'd never had a pet growing up, so there was no way that was how he knew her. He was certain that he did. Jughead had a colossally bad feeling about it. Izzy snapped at the women before rejoining the boys. While Jughead couldn't hear what she said, he knew it must have stung.

"It's a commutative fracture to the patella," Izzy told them. When the boys stared at her, Izzy signed. Clearly, she was frustrated with the entire situation and having to explain every detail wasn't helping. Jughead imagined it was her entire relationship with Reggie. "The kneecap is broken into three pieces. They're going to repair it, but she has screws and wires in her knee. She'll be on crutches for a bit but she'll ultimately be okay."

"Guess she can't go on a plane, huh?" The way Izzy glared at her boyfriend told them all that jokes were not an option, not that Jughead would have considered it. Reggie put his arm around Izzy, which seemed to be enough of an apology.

"Knee surgeries are tricky because there's no guarantee she'll ever have full movement of the knee." Izzy swallowed hard. "She'll be able to walk, of course, but if she doesn't regain full hyperextension –"

"She won't be able to dance," Jughead finished. First, Millie lost Jason. Then she lost her mother. Now the future of her ballet career was in jeopardy. Three strikes against Millie. Jughead had never liked sports, but he knew when someone was out.

* * *

Izzy was in a foul mood as she stopped outside Archie Andrew's house. Her sister had just gotten home and had immediately fallen asleep as the side effect of pain killers. She and Darry had spent the whole morning helping set up for Polly Cooper's baby shower and Izzy left to help Millie settle in back home. Of course, Millie didn't want to talk to anyone, which shouldn't have been a surprise to Izzy. One hug did not mend their entire relationship.

Darry had been asked by Archie, Kevin, Moose, and Joaquin to go to the Whyte Worm to try to identify any Serpents who might have been involved in the accident. He had declined only because he had promised to help Betty set up for the shower. No one invited Izzy, but she had overheard the conversation and had no intention of staying behind.

"No way," Archie said when Izzy arrived at his house. The other boys were behind him, looking increasingly alarmed. "The Serpents are dangerous. You can't come."

"Because I'm a girl? Archie Andrews, are you benching me because of my gender?" Izzy knew that Archie was really benching her because of a deep sense of chivalry and the desire to protect those around him and while his intentions were certainly good, Izzy was in no mood to follow some outdated sense of manhood. It was exactly why she told Reggie that today was a girls' day and that she would be busy with Millie and the baby shower. Reggie was stubborn and would do everything to stop her. Archie was stubborn, but not as stubborn. "I'm walking into that bar with or without you. If you leave me behind, I'm just going alone. It's my sister, Archie. Her life is ruined."

That morning Izzy had overheard her father on the phone with the insurance company. Millie's medical bills were not cheap and they still had not received insurance money for their mother's accident. Apparently, it was an ongoing investigation.

"Reg will kill us," Moose told her, but Izzy was already crawling into the backseat of the car. She had thought about taking shotgun in the heat of the moment, but she was the shortest of them all. Even angry, she still had to be logical. "Are we seriously letting this happen?"

"Are you going to fight her? She's small but smart," Kevin answered, looking slightly scared. "If we don't take her to the Serpents, she might train her snake to eat us."

Kevin slid into the seat next to her and Izzy smiled gratefully. When she opened her phone, there was a text message from Reggie asking how the baby shower was. Betty, Polly, and Veronica knew that she would be back late because they assumed she'd be with Millie for a while. Izzy texted back that the shower was going well. She even sent a picture of the decorations that she had taken that morning for authenticity. When she looked up, Kevin was looking over her shoulder judgmentally, but she shrugged him off. Like he would never lie to Joaquin.

Before entering, they gathered together to make a plan. They would play it cool and if Moose recognized anyone, they would leave and call Sherriff Keller. When they did enter, people stared. Sure, they were new, but Izzy mostly blamed Archie. He wore his letterman jacket into the club, which was like wearing a flag for the north side. The boys decided to play pool at an empty table. They figured they would be mistaken for kids performing a bet.

While Kevin had taken the sight of a live rattlesnake as an omen for impending death, Izzy was excited. The clear glass tank had no top and the snake was happily in his natural habitat. She lost sight of the boys, but she knew exactly where they were. Besides, the scientist in her couldn't ignore the beautiful specimen before her. He was perfect, though he had a light scar around his neck. Izzy hadn't ever seen something so beautiful.

"You want to feed him?" A hand waved a frozen dead mouse in front of her face. Izzy looked up and saw the had belonged to a teenage boy with black hair and a snake tattoo on his neck. It was fairly visible and Moose said he hadn't seen any tattoos. Besides, he was about sixteen and would have been a fair fight for Moose. She felt she could rule him out. "You know... if you're not scared.

"Are you sure it's okay?" When the boy nodded, Izzy happily took the dead mouse from his hand. Maybe most people would consider it gross or inhumane, but Izzy simply saw it as nature. Besides, she hadn't killed the mouse so why let it go to waste? When Izzy lowered the mouse close to the snake, he unhinged his jaw and Izzy dropped the mouse just before he pounced. She squealed the same way most girls did for cute kittens at a pet store and she watched closely as he consumed his meal. He didn't hiss or rattle in her presence. "Feeding a rattlesnake was very high on my bucket list."

"I've never heard a girl squeal over a snake before," the boy said. Izzy felt her face heat up. The bold and brave Izzy who demanded Archie Andrews take her to a dangerous part of town was gone or, at least, dormant. "Most girls run away in fear. Or they're at least worried about getting bit."

"Look at that scarring around his head. He's clearly a venomoid." Though Izzy was entirely committed to Reggie, she had to admit the boy was pretty cute. He had slightly tanned skin with dark hair and matching brown eyes. What she liked best was how impressed he was with her knowledge of snakes. Most boys – most people – showed no interest. "But thanks. For letting me feed him. I know you were trying to scare me, but thanks."

He blushed and looked bashful, but he still had a confidence about him. It was different than Reggie's though, but she wasn't quite sure why yet. His clothes were worn and the sleeves were ripped off his flannel. Reggie never would have dressed like that. "So tell me, what's a Northside Princess like you doing on the wrong side of the tracks?"

"Down, Sweet Pea," a voice said. Izzy recognized it instantly. She would almost have rather been caught by her father. "I know Izzy's family quite well. Don't go giving her trouble."

"This is Izzy?" The way he asked it implied that he had heard about Izzy before and she wasn't sure that she was comfortable with that. Izzy looked up at the face of the horribly inconvenient voice. There stood Ruthie, dressed like a South Sider in nearly all black clothing and combat boots."Damn, Baby Ruth. No wonder she's so good with snakes."

"Scram, kid," Baby Ruth (who Izzy couldn't believe was her father's girlfriend) said. Sweet Pea left, but Izzy wished she hadn't. She wanted to ask him so many questions about Ruthie's secret life. Mostly, she didn't want to be alone with her. "You shouldn't be here, Isadora. This is a bar. You're not even fifteen yet."

"Baby Ruth? You have a doctorate degree and you're nicknamed after a candy bar?" Izzy knew it was catty because people rarely picked their own nicknames, but she didn't like that Ruthie was talking to her like her mother or that she knew her birthday wasn't for another month. "Why are you telling me what to do? You're a gang member!"

Before Ruthie could answer, a fight almost started. Archie had approached a Serpent and angered him which nearly led to a full beating. Kevin and Moose were restrained and a middle-aged Serpent tossed Archie onto a pool table. He was about to hit Archie when a deep booming voice called the Serpents off. It took a moment, but Izzy recognized him.

Since her father was such good friends with Mr. Andrews, she had been to the construction site when she was younger. Darry had loved trucks so stopping by was always a treat. The man who saved Archie had been the foreman…and Jughead's dad. While Izzy hadn't heard any official labels, she knew something was going on with her sister and Jughead. Whatever it was, a gang affiliate would certainly change it – especially if they were responsible for the screws in Millie's knee.

Mr. Jones kicked all of the Riverdale High students and Ruthie helped escort them out. When Kevin gave her an inquisitive look, she whispered ", that's Ruthie. My dad's _girlfriend_."

As the group started to leave, Ruthie grabbed both Izzy and Joaquin's shoulders. Everyone stopped and while Joaquin remained calm, Kevin and Moose looked terrified.

"We need to sit down with your father and talk Isadora. It's important. And Joaquin? Get her home safely or so help me, I will end you, got it?"

Izzy knew that Kevin was dating a Serpent and she generally liked Joaquin, but his relationship with Ruthie gave her pause. Izzy always knew that Riverdale was a small town, but how was she going to tell her father that he had ruined his marriage for a gang member?


	14. Chapter 13: Rock-A-Bye Blossom

Darry was the only boy at the baby shower. He had expected it, but he hadn't anticipated just how awkward it would be. Especially since it was his first proper introduction to Polly and Mrs. Cooper. Mrs. Cooper was known to be a lion – going in straight for the kill. Today, she hadn't set her sights on Darry. Still, Darry was prepared to throw himself in the line of fire to keep her away from the Blossoms. That was what a good boyfriend should do. Even if he didn't want to. He really didn't want to.

They weren't sure that Mrs. Cooper was going to show up to Polly's baby shower. Betty had told him that her parents had been insisting Polly give up the baby. Something Betty had said must have changed Alice's mind though because she showed up with a gift. Betty spent most of the evening running interference. What surprised Darry most about the whole situation was not the two feuding grandmothers, but the redheaded aunt who had done a complete three-sixty for her brother's baby.

Yes, it was Cheryl Blossom who surprised him the most. She had disliked Polly from the start and told Betty how crazy she thought Polly was, but Cheryl was willing to play nice and do anything she could for Jason's child. When the Blossom's planned to get Polly deemed an unfit mother, Cheryl warned the Cooper girls of her parent's evil plan. She was still Cheryl, of course, trying to trade an expensive stroller for the title of godmother.

"I'm surprised Mimi isn't here," Cheryl said cattily as Darry poured glasses of punch for guests. "She seems to love to use this whole situation against me."

"My sister broke Polly out of The Sisters' Of Quiet Mercy's torture chamber to keep Jason's baby safe," Darry whispered back. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone but Millie didn't need anything else on her plate. He thought she might have known but the look on Cheryl's face told him that she really had no idea. "I know you two are fighting, but she's trying to do right by Jason, okay?"

"Well then, I'm surprised she's not here with a gift." Even though he didn't know Cheryl well, he knew that she cared about his sister. Darry hated when people played games with each other. He wished Cheryl and Millie would just scream at each other until they weren't angry anymore. "Since she's now an official Jolly shipper. This is Riverdale, after all. What's a party without an uncomfortable situation and an ill-fitting guest? Or are you here to fill that slot?"

"Lay off, Cheryl. She'd be here if she wasn't bedridden." Just for a second, Cheryl showed genuine concern. Izzy had been heartbroken for Millie and while they were bonded by blood, Cheryl had been much closer with Millie. Apparently, Cheryl didn't know about Millie's accident. Instead of playing more games and fishing around, Darry decided to be straightforward. Someone in Riverdale had to be. "Last night Millie was visiting the guys are Andrew's construction. Someone tried to attack the site and they broke Millie's knee cap. She had surgery and she's home from the hospital now, but she could really use a friend. Knee injuries are bad for dancers, Cheryl. She might not be able to go on pointe."

Cheryl quickly excused herself to get a good seat for opening presents, but Darry could see that she cared. He didn't know the exact details of the girls' fight, but they were behaving like they were in a reality show. One minute they were sisters for life and the next minute they were enemies. Darry didn't understand girls. He looked to Betty, who was doing everything to give her sister a special day. He was so grateful that Betty wasn't like that.

* * *

When someone knocked on Millie's door, the painkillers had mostly worn off, leaving her groggy and irritable. She assumed it was her dad, but she really didn't feel like talking to anyone. The doctor told her that there was no reason to believe she would have any real handicap from the surgery and it was possible she might be able to gain full control of her knee. Millie hated the word "possible." It meant that she might not be the same.

The summer intensive at NYU was out of the question. She'd never be ready in time to audition and she'd be in physical therapy for the foreseeable future. Her father promised to look for a physical therapist who specialized in dancers, but she still felt defeated. She wouldn't dance pointe for a long time if ever.

"What do you want," Millie groaned. She couldn't have more medicine for another hour, even though her knee was sore and uncomfortable. It wasn't her father who entered, but Jughead Jones, carrying a vase of red roses so large she could hardly see his face.

"Your dad had me bring them up. There's a card,' Jughead told her, placing the flowers on her desk. He handed her the card. Millie didn't examine it closely, but she recognized the handwriting and perfect swirls immediately. Cheryl. "I, ah…didn't bring flowers, but I wanted to see how you were doing."

Jughead gently sat down next to her on the bed, like he was afraid he might hurt her. Her leg was elevated on a stack of pillows. She looked at her knee and suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable. Izzy had helped her get changed from the hospital gown and she certainly wasn't looking her best. Her sister might be a genius but she certainly wasn't a stylist. Millie wasn't wearing makeup or a bra and one leg of her sweatpants was pulled up high above the brace. She ran her fingers through her hair and hoped that would be enough. At least she had brushed her teeth.

"Did they catch who did it?" Sherriff Keller had interviewed Millie when they prepped her for surgery, but she hadn't gotten a good look at the guys. He pressed for any signs that it was the Southside Serpents, a well-known gang in Riverdale, but she couldn't confirm anything. All she knew was that they were two white men and they weren't afraid to push a girl. "Was it the Serpents?"

"They didn't catch them, but it wasn't the Serpents. We're sure of that." Millie almost wished it had been. It was so easy for the Northside to blame the Southside for the crimes. She just wanted someone to blame – to get revenge on. "I'm sure of it because…my dad is a Southside Serpent. But I need you to know that I'm not. I'm not part of that."

"Juggie, I told you before. I know who you are." When their eyes met, Millie thought that this might be it. It might finally be the moment they kissed, but there was something else. He wanted to tell her something. "What is it? You can tell me."

He ran his thumb along the side of her face. She held her breathe. "Jason was doing a delivery for the Serpents, but my dad promised me that they didn't kill him and I believe him. I didn't tell you about him because…I didn't want you to think less of me."

"I don't." Millie meant it when she said she knew who Jughead was. He was the type of guy who crawled through her window when she was sad and followed her out of a biology dissection. Jughead Jones was her first kiss when she was six-years-old.

He kissed her then and it was much better than it was all those years ago. This time he initiated. Millie couldn't believe that Jughead Jones had soft lips or that he was an incredible kisser. She was comfortable around him. With Jughead, Millie never felt like she had to impress him or dress up. He didn't care how many solos she got or whether she wore school colors on game days. "Was that okay?"

Millie didn't answer with words. Instead, she crashed her lips back into his. She would always miss Jason because he had been her first love and one of her best friends, but this felt right. Jughead was right for her.

* * *

Betty's heart was broken. Polly chose to live with the Blossoms over coming home, even though her mom had kicked her dad out. She couldn't wrap her head around it. There was no way that the Blossoms truly cared about Polly. They only wanted the baby. Or babies, as Cheryl informed her.

At the baby shower, Nana Rose predicted that Polly would have twins and while no one believed a necklace could tell the gender of a baby, she had been right. Polly was having both a boy and a girl. Betty was supposed to be a godmother to both…so why did she move in with the Blossoms?

Darry and Betty had gone to talk to Cheryl to ask her to pass a message along to Polly. Betty wanted Polly to call their mother, who was devastated. Alice tried to hide it by focusing on exposing the Blossoms in a tell-all article in the Review, but Betty saw right through it. Her mother said she wanted to show all of Riverdale the Blossoms true colors, but Betty knew that she was really trying to show Polly. Betty had put so much work into making it safe for Polly to come home and Penelope had originally planned to have Polly declared an unfit mother. She trusted Cheryl to pass along the message, but she didn't trust her own sister to listen to it.

She had two saving graces. First, Cheryl had set her sights on Archie and while her iron grip was bound to upset Valerie, it gave him the opportunity to be the Cooper's spy. He assured her that the Blossoms were treating Polly well but he was trying to get Polly to at least talk to Betty – to explain herself. The second was Darry.

Darry told her to call him whenever she needed to talk and he hadn't been the least bit annoyed when she took him up on that offer…at 3AM. He even got up early to bring her breakfast that morning after. Her boyfriend attended and set up a baby shower with her, defended her to Cheryl, and helped her hunt a murderer. Even though they were so young, Darry really felt like the person she was meant to be with. Her family was falling apart, but Darry was keeping her together.

"The only way to truly stop this is to solve Jason's murder," she told him as they stared at the evidence board in the Blue and Gold room. "We have to look down every possible angle. We're missing something. Something big. Something that could change everything and bring Polly home."

"I have to tell you something." He sounded so guilty. Darry had been distraught when Izzy told him that Ruthie was at the Whyte Worm with the Southside Serpents. He knew more about Ruthie than his sisters, but he hadn't known that. "It's about my mom."

"What is it?" Betty's tone was gentle like she could sense that he had never said these words out loud before. She took his hands in hers. "It's okay, Dar. You can tell me anything."

Darry believed her. He was disgustingly smitten with Betty Cooper. He hoped she wouldn't be mad that he hadn't told her sooner. "My mom – she lied to us. A lot."

* * *

_**Four Years Before:**_

_ Lionel and Cassandra Miller often fought behind closed doors. They had agreed to never fight in front of the children and they mostly followed that rule. It led to some passive-aggressive comments from Cassandra which, while not ideal, they agreed were better than an all-out war. Their relationship was complicated._

_When they first began seeing each other, they were very much in love. Lionel had just gotten his pilot's license and Cassandra was destined to be a star – dancing across stages in New York City. They were a few years apart but Cassandra was mature for her age and she certainly matured the moment the first pregnancy test returned positive…and their second._

_ Cassandra loved her children but the moment Millicent was born, she wanted Lionel to quit his job so she could return to her career as a dancer. Lionel knew they couldn't afford it and things became…strained. A few months after later, he met Ruthie in a bar. _

_ Lionel knew he was in the wrong. Ruthie had started out as a fling until he couldn't bear to throw her away. So, he told his wife. He assumed they would separate but news of another baby changed everything._

_ "The children must never catch you," Cassandra had instructed him. She had laid out the rules very clearly. He was only to meet Ruthie on the Southside of town and no one was never to know. As long as they kept the secret, there wouldn't be a problem. Even though there was already a well-established dance studio in Riverdale, Cassandra started saving to start her own. Lionel picked up extra shifts and worked overtime to put money away. How could he not? Cassandra had been so understanding. Their arrangement was perfect…until years later when she announced the studio was to be in New York._


	15. Chpt14: Between A Blossom & A Hard Place

Isadora Miller was grounded. She thought she would be able to use Ruthie affiliation was a well-known gang to keep her quiet, but _Baby Ruth_ had still called her dad before she could even make the threat. Before school that morning, he woke her up early to talk. Not only was he leaving late that night for another flight, but she had to be home from school directly after Vixen practice.

"Ruthie is hanging out with Southside Serpents behind your back and you'rer mad at me?" She had expected her father to be heartbroken, to dump Ruthie, and to tell apologize to her for bringing Ruthie into their lives. "Dad, your girlfriend is the one you should be mad at!"

"I know about Ruthie's relationship with the Serpents and it isn't what you think," Lionel had told her. Not only did Izzy have to cancel her date with Reggie that weekend, but Ruthie revered as a hero for keeping her safe. "She's a good person, Izzy. She cares about you."

"Why did she say that the three of us needed to talk then? Besides to rat me out. " Lionel's face paled slightly and he just shook his head. Before running to get ready to school, Izzy said what she had never said before, even when her parents split up: "I hate you."

Reggie gave her a ride to school that morning, even though the kids had been given their mom's old car. Darry had his license and Millie had her permit, but Izzy was too young. Not that she didn't know how to drive it, of course. Darry had secretly taught her over the summer. Getting a ride with Reggie had turned out to be a bad idea. He kept asking why she was so quiet and she couldn't tell him without revealing that she had lied to him about going to the Whyte Wyrm.

Yet Reggie was certain something was going on. He asked if she was angry, sad, or sick. Izzy brushed him off which caused him to ask her the worst possible question. The second she got to school, she raced away from him. It was officially their first fight. Izzy hid in the girls' restroom.

"Dear Dora, you're looking particularly angry this morning." Cheryl was touching up her signature red lipstick in the bathroom mirror. Despite her natural attitude, Cheryl actually sounded interested and Izzy was desperate for someone to talk to. She had run away too quickly to look for Veronica or Kevin. "What has your dimwitted boyfriend done now?"

"He asked if I was PMSing," Izzy answered. She felt tears spring to her eyes and Cheryl stopped applying her lipstick to hand her a tissue. Izzy wasn't really crying about Reggie. She wondered in Cheryl could tell. "Cheryl, how far would you go to find out the truth?"

Cheryl treated many of the Vixens like her own personal squad as opposed to them belonging to Riverdale High. Luckily, Izzy seemed to be one of the girls she wasn't toying with. Midge Klump always spoke highly of Cheryl, despite her attitude. "If this is about Reggie, I can easily get the truth. Remember, I am the HBIC of Riverdale High."

Izzy just shook her head and let the tears fall. To her surprise, Cheryl wrapped her arms around her. "Listen, baby Miller, if I knew where to find the truth, I would do anything I could to get justice for Jason. If it's really important and not just some drama with Reggie Mantle – do the same."

"I think I have to skip school." Izzy hadn't meant to let the fear show in her voice. She had never skipped school before. How would she explain it to Reggie or Darry? How would she even go about it? Izzy knew she had to take Cheryl's advice. The redhead had gone back to fixing her lipstick. "Cheryl? I wanted to say thank you. Not just for the advice."

"I know. My presence is a gift. You're very welcome." Cheryl shrugged off Izzy's comment and put her lipstick away. They both admired her reflection in the mirror. Cheryl Blossom was perfection.

"I know you and my sister are fighting but…she needs you. Really needs you." She knew the red roses on Millie's desk had been from Cheryl. Jughead Jones wasn't exactly the type. "I don't know what's going on and I know she ghosted you when we moved but it was really cool of you to forgive her the first time. I know it's her turn to be the bigger person and if you give her time, she will."

Cheryl squared off with Izzy, sizing her up. Once she decided that Izzy's words were heartfelt, she smiled. "I'm going to cover for you. You're going to walk out of the bathroom and leave. I'm going to go to Principal Weatherbee and tell him that you're sick and your dad came to pick you up. No note needed and you'll be excused. Just be back in time for Vixen's practice."

As always, Izzy followed Cheryl's directions. She made a beeline out of the school the second she left the bathroom. Izzy didn't talk to anyone or make eye contact. Instead, she raced to Darry's car. Even though she didn't have a license, she did have a key in case Darry lost his. Again. Izzy was the responsible child and it was paying off. She pulled out of the parking lot just as the bell rang.

She wasn't sure where to go to find the truth, but she knew that she needed it now. The Whyte Wyrm was off limits and if she went to the pet clinic, Ruthie would recognize her car. Her best bet was to find Sweet Pea, the boy she met at the bar. They were around the same age, so he was probably in school. If she went to Southside High, she could probably find him at lunchtime. She just had some time to kill.

While she waited, she checked her phone. Six text messages from Reggie:

**_From Reggie:_**

_ Don't be mad._

**_ From Reggie:_**

_ R u skipping class w/o me?_

**_ From Reggie:_**

_ Cheryl just told me she found u yakking in the bathroom_

**_ From Reggie:_**

_ Sry ur sick. Fight over?_

**_ From Reggie:_**

_ Txt me bak. I miss u._

**_ From Reggie:_**

_ I'll come take care of u aft practice_

It was sweet how concerned he got in under an hour. She wondered if she'd be able to be a believable sick person. Lying wasn't her strong suit. Izzy blinked twice after every lie. It had been it impossible to get out of dance practice growing up. Maybe if she didn't answer, then he'd just think she was asleep.

After killing time for a few hours (mostly trying to concentrate on anything than her fight with her father), she drove to Southside High. It was pretty rundown and she felt bad for the students. Clearly, the Northside got all the funding, which seemed unfair even though she was grateful for it. When she entered the school, she had to pass through metal detectors but no one checked for a student ID. Izzy followed the crowd towards the lunchroom.

TThe Southside High lunchroom was much darker than the one at Riverdale. Their school was depressing and the students didn't seem very friendly. A group of guys whistled and licked their lips when she walked by. Izzy tugged her skirt lower, but that just made them laugh. She looked around and behind a metal fence was Sweet Pea. Actually, it was a whole table of Serpents. Her breath caught in her throat and she thought she might have a panic attack. What the hell was she doing?

Izzy turned around to leave and ended up walking into a boy with a shaved head and nose piercing. He had been one of the boys who whistled at her. He grinned a devilishly grin and said ", Damn, baby girl. You look like you could use a real man. Come sit with me."

She took a step back but he grabbed her arm. Even though she definitely wasn't sick, she thought she might throw up. Whoever the guy was, he thought her fear was funny. Izzy yanked her arm away and ran in the opposite direction. The boy slapped her ass as she went. She ran behind the chain fence and directly into a body.

The boy was wearing a Serpent jacket, but it wasn't Sweet Pea. He had slicked black hair and was about a foot shorter than the boy she was looking for. He raised his eyebrows at her. She tried to say something but all she could do was squeak. Most of the Serpents laughed.

"You lost?" This voice belonged to a girl with pink hair, who didn't sound friendly but she didn't sound mean either. Like she was trying to figure Izzy out.

"She's fine, Toni." Sweet Pea stepped forward. Izzy was revealed and terrified at the same time. "She's a Serpent by blood - I've got this."

Sweet Pea pulled her out of the cafeteria, spitting at the boy who touched her on the way. He took her out into the parking lot. Apparently, no one at Southside High was worried about kids skipping class because no one stopped them. He didn't say anything until they were safely away from everyone.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He seemed much angrier than he was before. "You can't just walk into the South Side alone dressed like a preppy Northsider. Are you looking to get jumped?"

Izzy hadn't thought the plan through. Her wardrobe had become much chicer since she started taking advice from Veronica. It stood out on the Southside. "I'm not a Serpent by blood. My dad's from the Northside."

"Your mom's a Serpent, so you're one by blood. Unless you like the stuck-up Northsiders." Izzy had come to Sweet Pea because she thought he might know something, but he just thought she was Ruthie's daughter…did Ruthie even have a daughter?

"My mother was a ballerina from the Northside…but thanks. For covering for me." She had to admit he was cute, even though she was dedicated to Reggie. Izzy could feel her phone vibrating in her pocket it was probably Reggie…again.

"I'm not covering for you. Izzy, right?" She nodded and Sweet Pea rolled his eyes. "Look, Baby Ruth told me the truth. She trusts the Serpents. You might have been raised by that uppity ballerina chick, but your birth mom has Serpent blood. We protect our own. I'm not doing you any favors. I don't care."

Izzy shook her head, feeling a little sick. Obviously, he was confused. Sweet Pea was lying. Maybe she and Ruthie both liked snakes and looked a little bit alike, but that didn't mean she was _adopted_. She still had her father's eyes. It had to be wrong…then why did she believe him?

"She told me you guys were going to talk," Sweet Pea continued, looking increasingly uncomfortable. "I guess she didn't."

"Do you know where she is?" After teh longest thrity-seven seconds of her life, she did counted, Sweet Pea nodded and Izzy pulled out her car key. "Let's go."

She grabbed his arm and pulled, but he held still. "She usually eats lunch at the Whyte Wyrm and I'll take you, but I'm driving. You know, since I actually have a license."

Sweet Pea pointed to a motorcycle and Izzy gulped. Motorcycles were dangerous and her mother had made her promise to never ride one. Then again, maybe her mother wasn't her mother at all.

Instead of protesting, Izzy took the helmet from Sweet Pea and got on behind him, clinging to him for dear life.

* * *

When Millie entered Riverdale High for the first time after her accident, everyone had stared. She wasn't sure if word about her relationship with Jughead had gotten out (though people had suggested it all before he had kissed her) or if it was because of her crutches. People cleared paths for her, which only made her more self-conscious. What helped, was having Jughead carry her books and catch her when she stumbled.

Later, when they were pretending to study in the student lounge, Jughead left to go to an emergency Blue and Gold meeting. Archie joined her and promised Jughead he would help Millie to her next class. She was suspicious until Jughead kissed her goodbye- in front of everyone. She melted.

"So you two are a couple?" The only answer she gave him was a shrug. Since Jughead had been staying with Archie, the two had been like brothers. Fred Andrews was constantly checking in on her family, so she was beginning to develop a similar relationship with Archie. While he could be oblivious, he was also incredibly kind-hearted and brave. Even though Veronica wouldn't admit it, Millie could tell that she had developed feelings for Archie. She hoped Archie wouldn't hurt Veronica like he did Betty. Or hurt Valerie. Ever since he developed abs, girls came running to him. "I need your advice on something."

"As long as it isn't about crutches or algebra, I'm all yours." Millie shoved her algebra textbook into her backpack, glad for an excuse to be rid of it. "What's up?"

"It's about the Blossoms, actually." Archie gave her the same broken glass look everyone else did. He waited until he was sure she wouldn't break before he continued. "The Blossoms are getting me into this super exclusive summer music program to thank me for taking Cheryl to the annual tree-tapping ceremony. Her family is like really mean to her."

"The Blossoms only care about red hair and maple syrup. Tread lightly," she answered. Being friends with the Blossom twins had gotten her numerous perks over the years. Millie had been the approved friend, while Heather had been shunned until she moved. She wouldn't be surprised in Penelope had gotten Heather's father that promotion out of town just to keep her away from Cheryl. However, the Blossom stamp of approval got her tickets to exclusive ballets and concerts, access to nice clothes, and invitations to the best parties. She was treated to more blow-outs and mani-pedis than a girl could dream of. It was enough to keep most people around, though Millie really had loved Cheryl and Jason more than anything. Now she wished she could have kept the twins and left the Blossom name. "Is that all you wanted to know?"

"Val says their buying me but Clifford Blossom says he'll help my dad if I go to this ball with Cheryl. He's having me fitted for a tux. I like Cheryl as a friend and I want to help her, but I don't want to lose Valerie." Archie was stuck between a Blossom and a hard place. Millie knew exactly why they picked Archie. The Blossoms cared more about red hair than anything else – a physical trait that both Archie and Millie naturally had. She ran her hand through her newly dark locks – her liberation from Cheryl. Even though they were fighting, she felt bad for Cheryl. When the extended family came to town, Penelope was extra vicious. Besides red hair, all Blossoms shared the greed gene – desperate to take what wasn't theirs. "They can help my dad, right? I'm not doing this for nothing? I mean, besides to help Cheryl. I want to help her too. Really."

"The Blossoms have more power than anyone in Riverdale. They could get your dad's construction company a lot of work," Millie admitted. Poor Archie. She knew that he really wanted to help both his dad and Cheryl. He was just naive. The power of the Blossoms was intoxicating. "But if you do this, you need to talk to Val. This isn't just going to be one favor with them. Give an inch and the Blossoms will pour maple syrup for a mile."

The warning bell rang and Archie helped Millie to her feet, carrying her bag while she tried to maneuver her crutches. Before they could go, Millie had to say one more thing: "Archie? You have to be careful. Don't lead Cheryl on either."

Archie nodded and Millie hoped he took that to heart. Cheryl seemed tough, but she really just wanted someone to care about her. Jason had loved Cheryl but her parents had merely bought her whatever she wanted to keep her quiet. Jason was treated like the golden son while Cheryl was just the purebred poodle that Penelope kept in her purse. Archie had already corroborated her story to Sherriff Keller and now he was helping her survive her family. She only hoped Cheryl wouldn't get hurt.

* * *

When Izzy returned to school for Vixen's practice, she felt numb. Her reflection in the car mirror had been bleak – puffy eyes and paler than normal skin stared back at her. It wouldn't be hard for someone to believe she had been sick. She wanted to ditch practice, but she had promised Cheryl…and she needed to return the car.

As soon as she walked into practice, Veronica came rushing up to her. In true Veronica fashioned, she looked concerned and beautiful all at once. It wasn't fair. "Girl, you do not have to be here. Take no offense because you are always stunning, but you look sick."

"I'm fine. Doc said I just didn't sleep well. Not contagious," Izzy lied. She blinked twice, glad her friendship with Veronica was so new. Otherwise, she might have caught on. "I need more vegetables or whatever."

"If you're sure," Veronica said skeptically. Eventually, Izzy would tell her friend everything, but she needed to process the situation. Besides, her current project was cheering up Ethel Muggs, who wrote an incredibly dark poem for English class. Even though Veronica confessed to her past as a mean girl, Izzy found it hard to believe. "But don't be afraid to take a break if you need to. Cheryl will get over it."

Izzy looked to Cheryl, who gave her a questioning looking- as if to ask if she could do this. Izzy nodded in response. Cheryl was playing the role of the bitch, forcing sick Izzy to rehearse. Cheryl seemed to have no problem doing it if Izzy was actually fine to do so. She was starting to understand how Millie had defended her for all those years. "Actually, Ronnie, could you do me a favor? Could you text Reggie to ask him to give me a ride home after practice? I fell asleep and forgot to charge my phone?"

Her phone was charged but she had turned it off. She hadn't replied to any of Reggie's messages asking if she wanted him to come over after school. Dilton had offered to collect her homework – even partnering with her for a biology project. Veronica and Kevin had texted her too, but she turned off her phone as soon as Sweet Pea put his number in. It was all too overwhelming.

By the end of practice, Veronica was still concerned and even Cheryl seemed to be going easy on her. She seemed to be at least one count behind the other girls at all times. Cheryl pulled her aside at the end.

"Okay. What the hell is going on?" To an outsider, Cheryl sounded like she was being her bossy self, but Izzy got the feeling she was actually asking. Of course, Veronica didn't know that.

"She's sick, Cheryl. She obviously shouldn't be here so back off." Veronica linked her arm through Izzy who felt like crying all over again. "Just let it go." Veronica pulled her away and Cheryl just rolled her eyes. Izzy mouthed the words "thank you" and Cheryl visibly softened. At least, Izzy thought she did. She hoped.

Veronica escorted her to Reggie's car after they got changed and Izzy was grateful for the comfort, even if it was for the wrong reason. Maybe Izzy didn't have a fever but the events that had happened over lunch made her want to throw up. She especially felt bad for Sweet Pea who took the brunt of it. Izzy got the sense that he wasn't used to crying girls.

"Get this girl home and makes sure she actually gets into bed because she is out of it," Veronica instructed Reggie before kissing Izzy's cheek and departing. Reggie opened the passenger door for her and she climbed in. He brought his hand to her forehead.

"I don't think you have a fever, but we can check when you get home." He closed the door lightly and went around to the driver's side. Izzy started crying. It was embarrassing, especially crying in front of two boys in one day, but she couldn't help it. "Hey, don't cry. I'm going to take you home. You'll be fine."

He kissed her forehead before starting the car. Reggie was much better with crying girls than Sweet Pea, but given his reputation, he had made a lot of girls cry. She wondered how many sick girls he had given his varsity jacket to use as a blanket on the short car ride home. A lot less, she was sure.

Reggie took her home and tucked her into bed. He sat with her until Millie's physical therapy time would be up and her father would be on his way home. He made Izzy smile when he kissed her forehead goodbye, promising her a ride if she felt better tomorrow. Her boyfriend didn't want her walking in the snow.

The second he left, she got out of bed and waiting in the sitting room for her father to come home. It was time for the truth. Her father was her father but her mother…was not.

* * *

**Author's Note: _I considered abandoning this series but I already have a lot more written. Let me know if you want me to continue!_**


	16. Chapter 15: Cake and Gasoline

Darry felt vaguely sick as he sat in his sitting room later than evening. His father would be gone for the next two days on an overnight flight. The "family meeting" they had before he left had him reeling. Lionel had offered to call out of work to stay with his children. They all refused. Darry wasn't sure they wanted him around.

Now, he was with his sisters, his girlfriend, and Jughead Jones in the sitting room. Millie sat with her injured leg propped on the coffee table and Jughead squished in the armchair with her. Darry wished he was sitting that to close Betty, who had her arm around a crying Izzy.

When Darry told Betty that his mother lied, he had meant that she lied about her reason for leaving their father. Darry had overheard a conversation between his parents where they discussed their "arrangement". Lionel's affair was a secret from everyone _but_ wife - It had been for years.

Izzy confessed to ditching school to speak with Ruthie. Izzy told them Ruthie's story, and Lionel every single detail. Ruthie had gotten pregnant from Lionel's affair shortly after Millie was born. Born on the wrong side of the tracks, with parents who kicked her out and Ruthie joined the Southside Serpents. With no viable options, she planned to give the baby up for adoption.

Lionel confessed to his wife and Cassandra suggested the "solution". She would adopt the baby and raise her as her own. Her family wasn't going to be broken up over the affair and she was certain she couldn't raise two children on her own. With Lionel? She could raise three.

"You knew this whole time," Millie accused, throwing a pillow at Darry. He caught it easily. He hadn't known about the adoption but he knew enough. "If she knew, then why the hell did we move in the first place?"

"For the dance studio," Darry answered. He hadn't needed his father to tell him them that. A New York dance studio had more protentional than one in Riverdale. "Besides, you didn't tell us about mom's letter to Jason. She asked him to keep you safe. _Before_ he died. _Before_ the studio burned down."

"We haven't read the rest of the letter. We don't know why she said that." Darry knew Millie wanted to believe the best in their mother, but she still didn't know everything. He didn't want to take away Millie's view of Cassandra – even if it was a false one. "Maybe she was trying to help me mend the relationship."

"She wouldn't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because she hated Jason!" Darry didn't realize he was standing until the entire room was looking up at him. He sank back down into his seat. "She told me. She thought he was a distraction."

Izzy sobbed audibly and Betty handed her a tissue. Darry knew that she had the biggest shock right now but he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He wanted his girlfriend by _his_ side. Jughead was shooting him daggers for yelling at Millie. Which was dumb. There was no doubt Darry could kick his ass. Darry wiped at his eyes. He wasn't crying. Allergies. There was dust in his eye.

"Then why would she write him?" Millie spoke in a whisper as though she was scared to say the words out loud. He wished he hadn't told him. He wished he could have protected them longer. Instead, he dropped the final bombshell and watched his sisters explode:

"Because she bought gasoline."

* * *

A few days later, Millie was sitting in the Andrews' living room with Archie and Jughead. They were watching a horror movie with a giant bowl of popcorn in-between them. She wasn't sure what the movie was called but the Andrews had gotten some new channels on cable and one played horror movies twenty-four hours a day.

After what Millie had begun referring to as "the colossal family breakdown", Izzy had crawled into her bed that night to cry herself to sleep. She had done it twice more since. Millie didn't sleep well when it happened but she couldn't bring herself to kick her sister out. She was even lending Izzy lipstick and clothes – anything to keep her sister from crying. Izzy was constantly texting someone on her phone though Millie wasn't sure if she told Reggie yet. She had to assume that she had.

Darry was more protective of them, which was unnecessary but sweet. Millie was angry at him for keeping life-altering secrets but… she also sort of wished she didn't know.

Archie jumped as a blonde girl on screen was bitten by a werewolf after running back into her infested house to save her designer purses. Miss Designer's boyfriend was racing out of the house that he had only entered to try and save his materialistic girlfriend. The plots weren't particularly creative, yet they kept watching. Millie loved it. "Juggie, would rush into a monster house to save me?"

"That depends," he answered, with one arm around her and the other deep in the bowl of popcorn. "Did you run in knowing about the werewolves or are you an innocent bystander?"

Millie nudged him with her shoulder and threw a handful of popcorn at him. He caught most of it in his mouth. "We need to watch some quality horror movies. These Lifetime knock-offs are funny but we need something classic."

"You like horror movies?" Jughead sounded both doubtful and impressed.

"I've got a dark side, Jones." Millie and Jughead were enjoying themselves, but Archie was watching his phone. He had called and texted Valerie again that morning, hoping she would agree to talk. After finally walking away from the Blossoms, Archie apologized to Val but it was too late. Their relationship was over. "I am all about the beast within."

"Sounds like Millie should be your partner for the yearly trip to the Bijou then, Jug," Archie said after he put his phone down. "As much as I love you, I think movie dates are much better with girls."

"Yearly trip?" It was the first Millie heard about it.

"Don't, Arch – " Jughead didn't want to talk about it which seemed strange for a boy who confessed his father was a gang leader. How was a movie marathon worse than that?

"It's his birthday this weekend," Archie answered. Millie whacked Jughead in the arm. That wasn't a secret to keep from a girlfriend.

"I don't celebrate," Jughead told her, looking a little annoyed. Millie wasn't going to be buying any balloons or party hats.

"That doesn't mean you're watching classic horror movies without me. No way." Jughead relented and smiled. Millie snuggled up to Jughead. When he let his guard down, she pulled the popcorn bowl out of his lap. "We're going to need separate popcorns."

* * *

When Veronica came strolling into rehearsal late, with fire in her eyes, Izzy knew that Vixen practice was going to be exciting. Cheryl told Veronica that she would have to be in the back to do the "least damage." While she didn't have to be so rude about it, Izzy thought it seemed pretty fair. She was late to rehearsal without letting anyone know. Veronica wasn't having it though.

Cheryl welcomed Veronica's challenge to a dance-off and Izzy felt like she was in some teen movie. As the captain, Cheryl created the routines and gave herself the biggest solo. It would have been nice if there had been auditions for it, but Izzy understood the logic behind it. Izzy lined up with the other girls to watch the dance battle.

They were both good, there was both denying that. Cheryl was poised and calculated. Veronica was fierce and put her own flair into every step. Whatever mood she was in seemed to come out in her dancing, making her passionate and strong. Today, she was better than Cheryl. Maybe it was her years in dance classes, but Izzy couldn't ignore that Veronica had missed more than half of practice without telling the captain.

"All for Cheryl?" Betty called everyone to raise their hands but no one (not even Tina and Ginger, Cheryl's lackeys) raised their hands. It was getting out of line.

"Guys, this doesn't feel right," Izzy interjected. Everyone ignored her.

"All for Veronica," Betty said, raising her hand high. Every girl besides Izzy raised her hand. Cheryl was pissed and Izzy guessed she was hurt too. It seemed petty to Izzy but she knew Veronica. There must be a reason for it. As practice ended, she overheard Cheryl fire Tina and Ginger as River Vixens…and friends. As selfish as it was, Izzy wasn't sad to see them go.

"Dora, dear," Cheryl called to her. Izzy stopped. Cheryl linked her arm through hers and dragged her past Veronica, flaunting her like she was stealing a friend. Izzy looked to Veronica and shrugged. Ronnie didn't seem bothered by it, to Izzy's relief. "As the only Vixen with any loyalty and backbone, we must hang out tonight. I'll text you the details."

Cheryl walked away before Izzy could answer and Veronica came up to her. Izzy felt immensely guilty for not backing her friend.

"I get it," Veronica told her, patting her shoulder. The day after Izzy received some of the worst news of her life, she and Veronica had a girls day. She confessed everything to Veronica, including Cheryl's help. Veronica told her all about Ethel's father and how he tried to kill himself over the debt that came from doing business with Veronica's father. In dark times, the two girls painted each other's nails and comforted one another. "You owed Cheryl, but right now everyone else is controlling my life but I and I was not going to let a Blossom have any more power."

"Anything you need, I'm here." Veronica hugged Izzy tight. "And you're going to kill that solo."

Her friendship with Veronica was safe…now she just had to learn how to have a friendship with Cheryl Blossom.

* * *

When Betty was overwhelmed with something in her life, she put all of her energy into something else. Darry admired her drive but he wished that she hadn't put it towards throwing a surprise party for Jughead Jones. He really didn't mind Jughead other than the fact that he was dating his younger sister (that had to do more with her than with him), but Millie said he didn't celebrate his birthday. He didn't seem like the type to Darry. Betty still insisted.

She promised to keep it small inviting only what Veronica called "the inner circle." That was Millie, Archie, Betty, Veronica, Kevin, Kevin's Serpent boyfriend, Ethel Muggs and himself. Personally, he didn't consider himself Jughead's friend and he had never seen Jughead and Ethel together. It felt more like Veronica's friends to Darry. Everyone ignored that Archie had clearly already dipped into his dad's liquor.

When Millie walked Jughead in (She had recently been upgraded to no crutches and just a brace) and they all yelled surprise…he didn't look too happy. Still, Betty brought him a cake shaped like a hamburger and sang a haunting rendition of Happy Birthday. Before he made a wish, he heard Jughead whisper to Millie. "I wish it was just the two of us right now."

Betty, however, seemed to think the party was a success. There weren't that many people and Jughead seemed to mostly relax once the surprise wore off. Then the doorbell rand.

They opened it to reveal Cheryl Blossom who said: "Did you really think you could have a party without moi?"

"Or me," Chuck finished. Darry looked at Betty. She had been furious about Chuck's return, even going as far to make a scene in the cafeteria when he talked to Ethel. Ethel told them that Chuck had given her a sincere apology. Betty didn't believe it. Chuck was driving her insane and Darry was willing to bet it was revenge.

Moose was holding a keg and another Bulldog held another. Fred Andrews was out of town so he wouldn't be home until late the next day. Still, Darry hoped Archie would send everyone away. Instead, he said: "Screw it. One keg in the backyard and one in the living room."

And so it began.

* * *

**Author's Note: In my absence, I received favorites, follows, and my first review. It was just want I needed to keep writing. Thanks!**


	17. Chapter 16: A Little Chaos Part 1

Millie bumped into a drunk and optimistic Archie on her way into the garage. Jughead's birthday party had been crashed by nearly the entire school but it was Archie who gave the okay to set up the kegs. She bet that this time last year, he was sitting in a booth with Betty and Kevin wondering about parties. Jason had always taken her to parties, so Millie never had to wonder. Entering a party on the arm of a Blossom was like a VIP ticket. She hadn't been to a party with one of the twins since Archie's eleventh birthday.

When Millie saw Jughead exit his own party, she extracted herself for Midge Klump's story of her and Moose's "twelve-hour breakup" and followed him. Jughead wasn't exactly the party type but Millie could show him the ropes. She had learned everything she needed to know on the arm of Jason Blossom. Parties were fun. She so rarely just had _fun_.

"It's your party, you can cry if you want to," Millie said as she wrapped her arms around Jughead, snuggling up on him on the beat-up couch in the garage. At most parties, this would be we the boyfriend slid closer to the girlfriend, but Jughead pulled away. "Hey, are you okay?"

"It's not my party. I don't _like_ parties. I don't even know these people. The football team is here – the same football team who pushed me into a locker for an entire year." Millie reached out to him again and he dodged her. He was angry. At her. Millie wasn't exactly sure why. So maybe he didn't like parties. So what? His friends were _trying_. "I don't fit in with these people. Have you ever seen me without this hat? That's weird. I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. I don't fit in and I don't want to fit in."

"I'm sorry. Betty really wanted to do something nice for you. I should have tried harder to stop it." Millie sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to her. She shouldn't have let the party happen. Of course, the party was a bad idea. It was for Jughead. Jughead, who hated Jason Blossom and never toted her around on his arm. He wanted to spend his birthday alone in a dark theater with his girlfriend. There might be no theater, but she could make the alone part happen. "Let's hang out here. Just the two of us."

But Jughead didn't sit down. "I saw you in there. You were having fun. You're a River Vixen. A cheerleader. You were destined to be prom queen."

"You're not being fair." She didn't know what to do. Now he was mad at her for having fun? She offered to stay out in the garage with him and she apologized. Millie meant it when she said she was sorry but she hadn't thrown the party. Sure, she had gotten him there but it was Betty who did everything. Millie offered him a private party. What more did he want? "I'm sorry, Juggie. Really. Let me make it up to you."

"I'm not just some replacement for Jason Blossom. I'm not like him. I'm not popular or fun. We're never going to be homecoming royalty and I'm never going to score a touchdown and spin you around. How long until you realize that you're just trying to replace him? That I'm just some pawn." Millie felt like Jughead had pulled the couch out from underneath her. Jughead didn't look like he regretted anything he said. He just looked angry. Worse, he looked like he was done.

Millie felt tears spring to her eyes. She never thought of him as a replacement. Jughead and Jason weren't anything alike. How many times did she tell him that she liked him? Kiss him? Did he not believe her? "That's not what you are to me! I'm with you because I want to be with you."

"Yeah? But _why _do you like me? Is it because Jason's dead?" Millie had never been slapped in the face. Now she would never have to wonder. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Face it, Millie. We're fundamentally different. Your tutus and perfect hair while I'm just some loner from the wrong side of the tracks."

"Call me if you get over yourself," she snapped, heading towards the door. She wanted to spit fire or scream but it wouldn't change anything. Millie knew that Riverdale had branded her Blossom. Now she knew that Jughead had too. "I'm really sorry that your friends tried to do something nice for you and you hated it. Next year, you can spend your birthday alone because you clearly don't want me around."

Millie headed back to the party. She needed a drink.

* * *

Izzy was on her second drink or her third…maybe it was her fourth. She kept losing cups, so she couldn't be sure. Cheryl had dressed her up for the party and she looked older than ever. Reggie had tried to pounce on her the second he saw her, but Cheryl made him wait for her liquid lipstick to dry. His hands roamed the entire car ride.

Once they got to the party, Reggie steered them towards beer pong. He was the reigning champion and once she realized that he would be there all night, she decided to mingle. If she blew on his ping pong ball too many times, she might become a good luck charm and then she'd never get away.

She was glad that she decided to invite Dilton Doiley, even though she lost him soon after she found him. It was just nice knowing there was another friendly face around. Darry was dancing with Betty, though she noticed he wasn't drinking. She caught him watching Millie. Izzy didn't need to be watched because she was the smart one. The responsible one. The boring one. Millie, however…

Millie was in the center of the Vixen's whispering and giggling in a way Izzy had only seen when Cheryl Blossom was around. She had a red cup in her hand too and Izzy bet it was never empty. Popular girls never had to fill their own cup. Reggie whooped and hollered as he won another round of beer pong. Boring.

She slipped away and pulled out her phone. She starting typing.

_**To Sweet Pea:**_

_ Gues who is drnk?_

She hit send before correcting her typing errors. It wasn't her fault. She was finishing her drink as she typed.

_**To Sweet Pea:**_

_ I'm sad._

Izzy walked straight into Dilton Doiley. She flung her arms around him because that was what drunk girls were supposed to do. Tonight, Izzy Miller wasn't the responsible one. She was the girl who's boyfriend couldn't keep his hand offs her – the one who arrived with the most popular girl in school. Izzy brought her mouth to his ear and whispered ", I'm so glad you came. Can you refill my drink?"

Dilton Doiley had a funny look on his face but he still took her cup and went. He was a good friend. A great friend. A platonic friend who wanted nothing more, no matter what Reggie said. Reggie was the only boy who ever liked her, not that she needed anyone else. Sure, beer pong was boring, but she adored Reggie. He made her giggly and happy. He helped her forget that she was different from her siblings and lonely.

_**From Sweet Pea:**_

_ Are you safe?_

Sweet Pea had become her friend since the day she had become a blabbering mess after learning the truth about Ruthie. When she ran out of the bar, he made sure she got back to her car. He even vouched for Ruthie, telling her that she really cared about Izzy and she gave her up to have to best life. Izzy had no idea if she hated Ruthie or not. If she ever wanted to know her at all.

_**To Sweet Pea:**_

_ The footbll cptin here_

Sweet Pea called Reggie "the football captain" and not in a nice way. He had a thing against the Northside and she didn't think it would be going away anytime soon. Sweet Pea had explained to her that the Serpents were a family and that family always protected each other – no matter what. Since she was Ruthie's blood, she was safe. Izzy really wanted to belong to a family. She had barely felt like she belonged to her own before…and now? She didn't feel like she did now. Maybe she never did.

_**To Sweet Pea:**_

_ I wanna b a snke_

Dilton came back with a full cap and Izzy took a sip only to be disappointed. He'd brought her water. It was a very Dilton thing to do. Pragmatic.

"Drink that and then decide if you want another drink." Izzy took a giant gulp of water and dumped the rest into a nearby plant. She tweaked Dilton's nose exactly how she thought a Veronica would and brushed past him. She could get her own drink.

* * *

"How drunk are you?" Millie stared directly into the eyes of Reggie Mantle. He had been playing beer pong all night and judging by the way Moose swayed, Reggie's partner had been doing all the drinking. Millie took the ping pong ball from Reggie's hand. He and Moose were one cup away from winning.

"I'd be a lot drunker if I had some good opponents." Reggie started beating his chest like an ape and all the bulldogs cheered. On most men, that would indicate intoxication. Reggie was sober. "You up for a match, Miller?"

Millie shook her head. Darry had been watching her all night, just as everyone had been doing since she got back from Riverdale. He was so busy waiting for Millie to explode that he hadn't kept an eye on Izzy. Maybe she was a little tipsy, but she knew what she was doing. Just…maybe not enough to be Izzy's knight in shining armor. Millie tossed the ping pong ball into the other teams remaining cup, ending the game. She pointed towards a group at the other end of the room. "Actually, you're done, Mantle. I can barely support my own weight with this knee, let alone hers."

Reggie's eyes followed exactly where Millie was pointing. Izzy was very giggly and a sleazy look freshman was trying to force his way her conversation with Midge "Oh shit."

"Whipped," Moose called after him and Reggie flipped him off as he made his way towards Izzy. He pushed the freshmen with ease, sending him flying into a coffee table. Izzy threw herself in Reggie's arm. It was disgusting to watch her baby sister get sappy over a guy. At least Izzy was taken care of. It was surprising how into her Reggie was -given the type of guy he was.

Millie took a step towards Valerie and Melody. A drunk Archie had tried to mend his relationship with Valerie and she threw a drink in his face. Millie wanted to say something to Valerie. To tell her that she was sorry and that she knew how much it sucked to have a Blossom ruin your life. She was about to say something when she caught Jughead heading towards the door.

She debated running after him. Millie had another drink and she had some anger in her. Enough to yell but…it might turn her into a blubbering mess. The problem with fighting is that you never really knew if you were broken up or just fighting. Neither had said the relationship was over but she had to read between the lines. It was confusing for even the soberest of people. Millie was switching to water.

Before Millie could make a move, Cheryl and Chuck stepped in Jughead's way. Veronica and Betty leaped to Jughead's defense. Millie felt a jealous pang. Betty had thrown a birthday party for her boyfriend that caused him to possibly dump her. Betty wasn't the type to get in the way of a relationship on purpose…was she?

Whatever they said led to a Blossom announcement: "Listen up, party people! Everyone has their secrets and we've all done our fair share of sinning, that's one thing my brother's death has revealed. So, let's play a little game to get those secrets out in the open."

Just like that, Jughead's party was over. Cheryl's party began.


	18. Chapter 17: A Little Chaos Part 2

Jughead's birthday party had turned into Cheryl Blossom's game of _Secrets and Sins_. When Cheryl Blossom decided that it was time for everyone to own their secrets, Riverdale High stopped and abided. It made Millie sick.

"Let's start with the day you and your mob wife of a mother came to town for a fresh start. Tell us, Veronica, what's so fresh about defiling Archie Andrews in a closet?" Cheryl was on the warpath and this time, she was after Veronica Lodge. While Millie desperately wanted to avoid another disaster with the Blossom twin, she knew that Cheryl had no intention of leaving anyone out. Veronica's transgression was simply the freshest. Cheryl ignored Veronica's protests. She would not be stopped. "Moving on to dear Daddy Lodge. Isn't it true that your father, from prison, illegally bought the drive-in land? Which makes me wonder, what else is he doing from behind bars?"

"Well, I can't speak for my father," Veronica began. Millie felt incredibly unsteady and it wasn't from the alcohol. Cheryl was after chaos and vengeance but one look in Veronica's eyes let Millie know that she was about to tear Cheryl apart. Millie knew that Cheryl was no longer her friend…but it still hurt to watch her suffer. "But I do know someone with a very dirty secret. Specifically, Cheryl killing her very own brother."

All the air left the room. It was low. Especially from a girl who prided herself on class. If looks could kill, Cheryl would have murdered Veronica a long time ago and tonight she would roll in her grave. "Everyone knows how much I loved my brother."

"Exactly," Veronica continued. Everyone else in the room was completely silent. All the air was sucked out of the room. She tried to look at Jughead, but he wouldn't meet her gaze. Millie was left to choke alone. "But did you love him maybe in ways that a sister shouldn't love a brother? And as you got older, Jason started to think it was strange. Unnatural. So he chose Polly over you. So you shot him between the eyes with one of your father's many hunting rifles."

"Jesus, Veronica, too far," Millie snapped as a tear fell from Cheryl's eye. Cheryl wiped it away and turned her viper gaze towards Millie. Apparently, no kind word could create a truce.

"I certainly don't need your help, but if you'd like a turn then I will happily comply." Millie wracked her brain for what Cheryl could possibly say. Cheryl knew a lot. Everything. "Tell us, Mimi, do your new friends know about July 1st? The last day you were actually with Jason. Does that make you a homewrecker like daddy dearest?"

"Actually, you told me that Jason and Polly were broken up. Which you thought was true because Jason didn't trust you with the truth." Millie stood up, though it wasn't the most graceful, to look Cheryl in the eye. Cheryl had held her while she sobbed about her father's affair. Millie had once told Cheryl she envied how close she was to her brother – how there were no secrets between them. The gloves were off and their manicures were sharpened to claws. "Two can play your game, Cherry Bombshell."

"Do they know that before Jason you loved Jughead Jones from ages six to twelve? Do they know that before I plucked you from a ballet bar that you were nothing? A nobody? A girl whose mommy cared more about pointe shoes than her own daughter?" Millie didn't falter. Cheryl was scrapping the bottom of the barrel but Millie was still so angry. She _defended _ Cheryl from Veronica and this is what she got. Another attack.

"I'm not ashamed and I'm not worried they won't accept me because unlike you? I'm not afraid of who I really am." Millie knew before the sticky beer hit her face that she deserved what was about to happen to her. The girls had never talked about it but they hadn't needed to. It was unspoken.

"This game is sick. I want to go next," Dilton Doiley interrupted and Millie sank back down onto the couch next to Veronica, who passed her a napkin. Chuck Clayton encouraged Dilton and Millie wanted to set him on fire. He was encouraging the whole night and he was clearly only there to goad Betty. Millie could feel Jughead looking at her and she couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. Her eyes felt wet but she wouldn't let the tears fall. "I saw Miss Grundy's car at Sweetwater River on July 4th. I told Betty and Jughead and then Miss Grundy quit her job and left Riverdale two days later. And let's not forget that Archie was also at Sweetwater that morning."

"Oh my God," Cheryl snapped. Millie grimaced at the thought of Archie dating a teacher. A teacher who had previously tutored Jason. He had said good things about Grundy too. She couldn't let herself do down that path. "Archie Andrews, is that why you became a mediocre musician overnight?"

That was the kind of thing she would whisper to Millie at a sleepover and they would giggle as quietly as they could to keep from waking Cheryl's parents. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by how much she missed the girl who used to be her best friend. The alcohol had to be getting to her.

Cheryl and Chuck had a field day. While Veronica encouraged Archie not to stoop to their level, which was very very low, Cheryl mocked Archie's painful breakup with Valerie – one that she caused. Chuck was grossly impressed. A teacher preying on a student wasn't a laughing matter to anyone but Cheryl and Chuck. Millie was disgusted.

"Dilton Doiley plays with guns," Betty said desperately. A loud gasp came from Izzy, who was leaving heavily against Reggie. He looked a little embarrassed. Millie vowed to never let her sister drink again.

"Big whoop, Betty. Everyone knows Dilton Doiley's a psycho."

"Well I guess it's my turn now," Chuck began. Betty visibly tensed and Darry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Boy do I have a twisted secret to reveal. Starring Betty Cooper."

"Watch it," Darry barked, puffing out his chest. Millie wasn't sure her brother could take Chuck, but Archie seemed ready to back him up. It might divide the Bulldogs but… Reggie would side with Darry if he wanted to keep Izzy happy. Judging by the way he held her now, he clearly did.

"Shut up, Miller. You do not even _know_ her. Betty doesn't even know herself. Everyone knows why I got suspended. What you don't know is that she dressed up like a hooker in a god-awful black wig, drugged me, handcuffed me to a jacuzzi, and I almost drown until I said what she wanted me to hear." Betty was crying now and Darry was twitching – desperate to hit Chuck.

"Can it, Chuck. No one cares what you have to say," Millie spat. She stood up to leave, tired of playing their games but Cheryl pushed her back down, which wasn't hard considering her knee brace.

"I bet you're not so flexible now, are you twinkle toes?" Millie flipped him off. "Oh, there's more to my story. You see, she actually thought she was Polly, but you knew all about that didn't you, second strong?"

Darry didn't say anything. Instead, he punched Chuck in the face. Chuck punched Darry back, sending him flying into a wall. Jughead stepped in, swinging at Chuck. Clayton flung him into a coffee table.

The real hero turned out to be F.P. Jones, who broke up the fight by kicking Chuck out of the party…and ending it.

Millie watched as Reggie carefully walked Izzy out, taking her weight as though it was nothing. Darry looked torn between following his drunk sister or caring for his upset girlfriend. He looked to Millie, who nodded. He had Betty to take care of. She could follow Reggie and Izzy home. Her boyfriend didn't want to see her…if he was still her boyfriend.

* * *

Darry took Betty to Pop's for a milkshake, even though it felt like it was from a past life after everything that had happened that night. Years seemed to have passed in one evening. He held Betty close and kissed the top of her head.

"Dar, there's something wrong with me," she confessed, pulling away. "I should have told you about Chuck. I just…there's this darkness in me and instead of dealing with it, I threw a party of Jughead that he didn't even want."

Betty opened her hands for Darry and showed him the crescent-shaped moon on her palms. They were cuts from digging her fingernails into her own hands too hard. He didn't know what to say, he kissed her hands gently. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

Darry didn't let go of her hands. Betty may be his first girlfriend, but he knew there wasn't anyone better than her. He wasn't letting ago anything soon. "Betty, I'm not upset with you. I love you and nothing Chuck Clayton says will ever change that."

She looked at him and smiled. The few seconds before she spoke were the longest of Darry's life. Coming back to Riverdale was a nightmare but Betty was the one good thing. "Darry, I love you too."

He held her close. Tomorrow, he would tell her about his plan to meet up with Ruthie – to dig into Jason's connections with the Serpents. Tonight? Tonight, they would just be together.

* * *

Reggie Mantle had become exactly the type of guy that he made fun of. As a good-looking jock, he had never had any trouble getting girls to like him. He was suave, fun, and could easily toss a girl over his shoulder in a way that made her feel like a size zero when she was really a twelve. Reggie was the captain of the damn football team…so why was he killing time Izzy Miller and taking it slow?

Something was going on with her. The past few days she had been quiet and closed-off. She was the smart and responsible type by at Jughead's birthday party, she got completely sloshed. Reggie ended his reign as beer pong king to look after her. Her dad was out of town and her siblings weren't around so he took her home.

At first, she had been giggly. She kissed him all over and kept going on and on about how attractive he was. Reggie ate that up. Izzy kissed his abs and he nearly exploded but then she burst into tears. He wasn't good with crying chicks.

"My mom's not my real mom," she blubbered and Reggie had no idea what she meant. He wasn't sure if he should hug her or hand or a tissue, but she turned a sickly shade of green and raced towards the bathroom. Not only was she crying, but she was throwing up. Why had he ever thought he could be someone's boyfriend?

He followed her and held back her hair as she heaved. Eventually, she fell back against his chest and sniffed. Reggie flushed the toilet. She continued: "My dad had an affair with this bitch from - and so my mom or my fake mom – I'm -"

Izzy leaned over the toilet again and gagged. Reggie held her hair with one hand and rubbed her back with the other. This had to be the first time she had alcohol. He felt bad for her. Everyone thought he was dumb but he could put things together. Sort of. At least he thought he knew what she meant.

Even as Reggie watched everything she drank that night come out in reverse, he liked her. She was supposed to be this genius but she was also so naïve. Every time he told her she was pretty or fun, she was shocked. It was kind of annoying how she basked in light that Veronica Lodge sometimes shown on her, but that was cute too. Izzy was cute but not in the way he usually liked. She wasn't cute because she was cheeky or mean but because she was so sincere. When she told him that he was smarter than he realized, she _meant_ it. After the whole memorial fight, she had forgiven him pretty quickly and he thought she might be one of those girls who jumped at her boyfriend's beck and call. Then he was stupid and asked if she was on her period and she nearly tore his head off. Good. He didn't want to be able to take advantage of her. His old man always took advantage of his mom and he was a piece of shit.

Last year, Moose had bailed on a bros night because Midge had the stomach flu and Reggie had tortured him for weeks. Whipped. He had "wa-cha!" sounds every time Moose walked past him. Moose hadn't even gotten angry like Reggie would have. Reggie hadn't gotten it…now he sort of did. He just wanted his girl to be happy.

When Millie came home, she peeked in the bathroom door. Izzy groaned in response. Millie looked sympathetic. "I can take over, Mantle. You can go."

He should be itching to leave. It was gross, watching someone else puke their guts out. Izzy looked so sad and pale and small. She was insecure enough – the last thing she probably wanted was for Reggie to hang around.

"Nah," he answered, looking at Izzy's desperate face. Millie handed a damp washcloth to Reggie and he wiped Izzy's face. "Dance might be your shit but I got hangovers covered."

"I'll be around if you change your mind." Millie left and Izzy looked up at him, tear-stained and embarrassed. He got up to grab a bottle of mouth wash and handed it to Izzy, who took it gratefully. She rinsed and spit directly into the toilet.

She shakily stood up and Reggie offered her an arm for support. He dumped the trashcan out of the floor (Millie could deal with used q-tips and tissues) and lead her out towards her room. Reggie tucked her into bed and sat beside her, stroking her hair. He was officially whipped.

Millie sat in the sitting room of her home, hair dripping from her shower. It had taken a scalp scrub and two shampoos to get all the beer out of her hair. She thought about going to bed, but she wanted to be there when Darry walked through the door. Not that they were speaking, just that she wanted to make sure Betty was okay. Poor Betty.

Chuck Clayton painted an interesting picture of her and Millie got the impression that it was true. Maybe what everyone said was true. She didn't want to imagine Archie and Miss Grundy together…she had been Jason's tutor the year Millie was gone. Jason wouldn't though…at least, she hoped not.

There hadn't been any truth to what Jug said. Millie wasn't using Jughead to replace Jason. She _liked_ Jughead. Maybe things would be different if Jason was around. Maybe they would have turned out exactly the same. There was no way for them to know. They would drive themselves crazy trying to figure it out. Besides, Millie was done with all things Blossom. Cheryl had been a total bitch that night. Millie missed her like crazy.

Even though this entire party was really Cheryl's fault – Betty's party was much smaller and better intended – Millie felt like she was the one who took it too far. She and Cheryl hadn't talked about it. Ever. Still, they both knew. Even if Cheryl wouldn't admit it. Millie needed to apologize, even if they weren't going to be friends again. She wasn't, ever, going to apologize to Jughead. Not again.

It wasn't her fault that Cheryl and Chuck crashed the party. Sure, she was sorry that Betty's tiny party upset him, but that should have been easy to forgive. He wasn't mad at _Betty_ for it and he shouldn't be. Archie and Betty were Jughead's best friends and they just tried to do something kind. Maybe he didn't like it. So Millie apologized. He didn't have to be a jerk.

There was a knock on the door. Darry must have forgotten his key again. It wasn't very surprising. The Miller's often drove together and Izzy always carried her keys. Darry never really needed to. Millie opened the door, not thinking about her tiny pajama shorts or the wet spot on her tank top from her hair. She was certain it was her brother. It wasn't.

It was the person she wanted to see the least…who was also the person she wanted to see the most. Jughead Jones was standing in front of her with a container of the cake they never ate. It was made to look like a burger, which Millie found a little unappealing to look at, but any cake made by Betty Cooper had to be amazing. She really hoped Darry never messed that relationship up.

"I, ah, thought you might like some cake," Jughead said awkwardly. Millie stepped aside to let him in and gestured to the sitting room. While he sat, she went to the kitchen. Mostly to compose herself. She was terrified that he was here…but also really glad he was. Millie wanted to get rid of him just as much as she wanted to keep him around.

When she came back from the kitchen with two forks and a package of frozen peas, Jughead was uncomfortably sitting in the middle of the couch with the cake. Millie sat next to him, tucking her feet underneath her and trying to play it cool. Like she wasn't nervous or angry or upset or confused or…anything. She forced the frozen peas into his hands. Jughead winced as the cold hit his eye. "Look, about everything…I'm not used to this kind of thing."

"Birthdays? You've had sixteen, Jug." Millie took a bite of the cake. Damn, Betty Cooper could bake. Was there anything she couldn't do?

"I guess I just expect everyone to eventually leave me. You know, like my family did, so I kind of pushed you away." Jughead looked sorry. Millie stabbed her fork into the cake and fed him a bite. He smiled. "Okay, this is a really good cake."

"If I didn't know better, I'd be jealous of Betty Cooper." Millie said it like she was joking but…sometimes she was. Betty and Jughead solved mysterious and worked on the paper together. They had been friends forever and Betty was perfect. She was one of the top students in their grade, a perfect blonde cheerleader, and just so nice. If she wasn't the least selfish person in the world, Millie would hate her. Of course, if Millie did hate her, it wouldn't stop Betty from being considerate and well-mannered to her. That was the kind of person she was.

"You don't need to be jealous of anyone. Betty and I are friends, good friends, but nothing's going on. She pretty head-over-heels for your brother and I'm not interested. She doesn't hold a candle to my girlfriend. If she still is… You see, I spent a whole night being a jerk to the girl I actually like because _I _was jealous of her dead ex-boyfriend." It was a relief to hear Jughead say it out loud. Millie couldn't help but smile. God, she hoped Darry and Betty never broke up and for once it wasn't for selfish reasons. "I'm sorry, Millie."

"So I'm your girlfriend, huh?" Jughead blushed as Millie scooted closer to him. She kissed his cheek, the side that wasn't bruised. "You don't have to be jealous of Jason. I'm not trying to replace him with you. I just like you. Didn't you hear Cheryl? I spent my childhood with a crush on your beanie-wearing self."

"But he was your first," Jughead admitted, tossing the peas on the table and digging into the cake. She had to say, he looked really tough with a black eye…and she didn't hate it.

"I'm pretty sure my first kiss was with you. Remember? You were so grossed out that you wiped my spit from your mouth immediately." Jughead turned even redder. It was adorable.

"I might have been your first kiss, but I wasn't your first…you know. I guess I'm maybe embarrassed because I've never…done it." He couldn't meet her eyes. Suddenly, Millie wasn't hungry anymore. Damn Chuck Clayton and his sexist playbook.

"Jason and I never had sex." Jughead looked surprised. She couldn't really blame him. After seeing Chuck's playbook, she would have thought the same thing. It was one of the reasons why she was so upset about it. Jason had _lied_ about her. She knew why. Over Thanksgiving, Millie had visited Riverdale and Jason asked to try long distance. Millie had been so tempted but said no. It would be too hard. It would hurt too much. Judging by the date in Chuck's book, Jason had written it when he returned to school. "I was in middle school. It never happened. Not even on July 1st. I didn't' know it then, but Jason was saying goodbye to me that night."

Jughead kissed her and she kissed him back, hungrily. They weren't going to do it now but maybe someday. It was just nice to share it with him. Jason's virginity belonged to Polly and Millie wanted hers to be an exchange – not a gift. Maybe it was selfish. She didn't care. They only stopped when they were interrupted.

"Uh – so I gotta go," Reggie said from the doorway. Millie wiped at her face. Frosting. There was some of Jughead's mouth. "Izzy's asleep on her left side. Trash can next to the bed. I'd stay but my dad might actually kill me."

"Thanks, Reggie. You're actually a decent boyfriend," Millie told him. Reggie just rolled his eyes and left. When she had gotten home, Reggie was holding Izzy's hair back in the bathroom, like a gentleman…or, at least, like a good guy. Millie and Reggie had fallen into the same crowd when she was dating Jason. He could be a real jerk when he wanted to look cool, but mostly he was alright. She hadn't hated him before and she definitely couldn't now. He was so into her sister. After he left, she turned to Jughead: "Mantle is so whipped."

* * *

_**The Day Before Thanksgiving Break Ended:**_

_ Jason Blossom sat in his room, looking through his box of mementos. He had was Cheryl called a "Millie Box": movie tickets, notes, pictures…anything that reminded him of their relationship. Hell, he even had their straw wrappers from their first shared milkshake at Pop's. When he asked Cheryl if he could ask Millie out, she had been thrilled. Finally, she said, her best friend could be her sister. Cheryl always got ahead of herself._

_ "I'm guessing it didn't go well," Cheryl said, as she entered his bedroom. She sat beside him on the bed and looked through the box. "She'll come around, Jay Jay. It's her tyrant of a mother. Mommy heard from the lawyers that her mother barely lets her talk to her father, let alone visit. You know how that woman it."_

_ Millie idolized her mother, so Jason played along. Cassandra Miller liked him, according to Millie. Jason knew better. She was always forcing Millie to cancel plans and glaring at him when Millie wasn't looking. The same went for Cheryl. The only thing that women cared about was having a famous dancer for a daughter. Or son. Cassandra had three tries but she wasn't willing to strikeout._

_ "Mommy says that Mr. Miller should just sue for custody, but he won't. Coward." Cheryl wasn't taking Millie's move lightly. Millie barely responded to e-mails, phone calls, or text messages. Cheryl blamed Cassandra, but after talking to Millie, Jason thought it was her own doing. It hurt too much to be so far away. Apparently. "Jay Jay, I think we should rescue her."_

_ Jason wished it was that simple. His parents __**loved**__ Millie. She had perfect red hair and doted on Jason. Clifford thought that she helped keep Cheryl in line. If they got married, she'd be the perfect Blossom wife. That wasn't why Jason liked her, but he did. He loved her. "She doesn't want saving, Cher. Let her go."_

_ Tears sprung to his sister's eyes, but she nodded. When she left, Jason stuffed everything back into the box and kicked it under the bed. If Millie didn't want to be his girlfriend, then fine. He'd find another one._


End file.
